Alter-Ego (FIRST EDITION)
by GhostlyJasper
Summary: Matthew Williams is a typical, shy boy, and the son of a rich man. But at night, he becomes Matthieu, popular DJ sensation. When he meets Gilbert and his band, 'The Bad Friends', his life permanently and irrevocably changes… But with two lives to attend to, can he maintain their relationship and keep his secret at the same time?
1. Your Name

Chapter One

(One) Your Name - Swedish House Mafia

Matthew quietly made his way down the darkened hallway of his, rather, his father's, large home. He carried some clothes, his headset, and his little token, a pin of a polar bear with a hockey stick. He was sneaking off to the bathroom. He had night business to attend to.

And no, it wasn't what you think it was.

He crept into the room, checking to see if anyone was stirring, then turned the lights on and shut the door quietly behind him.

He donned his red flannel shirt, (with nothing underneath, minus the tape around his body that supposedly covered a 'wound') his torn jeans, and his boots. Matthew looked in the mirror.

His blonde, slightly curly hair would need fixing, especially if he wanted to keep his cover. He also would need those red contacts to cover up his odd, purple-blue eyes. He didn't want to be recognized, definitely not as the son of Abel Williams, super-rich fashion designer. That would be asking for bad things to happen.

Matthew tied back his hair, tried to make it a little rougher, more tough-looking. He grabbed his red contacts from the cabinet, and, with little difficulty, inserted them into his eyes.

Now, his alter-ego, Matthieu Delacroix, stood there before him.

A transformation like this wasn't anything new. He'd been at it for years.

What was the purpose? Why did he do this?

Simple. He was a DJ.

Sure, he made goods grades in school and didn't do drugs and blah, blah, blah. But another side of him craved that loud music, the dancing, the slight haze in the air. He loved the adrenaline.

But he couldn't go there like he normally was. He looked almost exactly like his father. Clubbers might take notice and do hell knows what with him. And he knew for a fact some of his classmates went to the club, too. He'd be snitched on in a heartbeat.

Matthew hurried out of the bathroom, turning out the lights and grabbing his headset. He slipped his polar bear pin into his pocket and rushed to his room to grab his laptop.

He was prepared.

Matthew shoved all of this into a backpack and zipped it up. Then, he made his way down the steps and to the door. Turning the lock, he slipped outside and into the night.

It was a short way to the club. When he got far enough into the city, he got a cab to drive him the rest of the way. The whole process only took about ten minutes.

Matthew paid the driver, who roughly snagged the cash and pocketed it.

He then looked to the building. Bright lights glared, advertising his stage name - Delacroix - DJing on Fridays and Saturdays!

 _Yeah, yeah, whatever._ Matthew wasn't so keen on the 'fame' thing. He didn't particularly hate his father, but fame and fortune does things to people. He did not want to be said people.

Matthew had to go meet some lady before performing all the time. He was never given an exact reason why, so he just assumed it was like hyping you up for your set or whatever. Like a pep talk.

He discreetly made his way to the back door of the place. Well, as discreetly he could with all the annoying honking cars passing him.

Matthew knocked on the door loudly. The door swung open almost immediately. "Well,here he is!" A woman with a very tight, sparkly black dress said. Matthew only knew her by Miss Celeste. Honestly, to him, she sounded like a stripper or prostitute or something.

"How's Delacroix doing?" Miss Celeste asked, moving closer to Matthew. He could smell the alcohol on her breath. _Okay,I need to be in character. Come on, Matthieu._

"Eh, whatever." He answered. "Let's just get this fuckin' thing goin'."

Miss Celeste patted his shoulder. "Come along, then." She ushered him inside. "Hurry and hook up your things. People are waiting~" she added in a sing-song voice. Matthew nodded.

He hurriedly got his laptop and headset hooked up, then arose from his little crouch on the ground. They'd hooked up a mic, so he could rile up the crowd. Matthew turned a knob and another to get the thing started. He cut off his own sound soon after, beginning to speak. "Hello, Sun City!" He got yells and cheers in response. "How are you doing on this fine night?" He continued. "I hope you all are feeling down for some classic electro tonight, because if you're not, well, I'm still mixing that shit." He added Mathieu's sarcastic, asshole-ish streak to his words. He heard snickers coming from the back.

Matthew turned a knob, then another to speed up the beat. Some people seemed to be getting into the rhythm. He sped it up a little more, added a little bit here - then - then came the drop.

 _Always the best part_ , he thought, especially on this track. Matthew was certain that the energy from the music was almost like a tangible force, sweeping through the crowd. He let himself savor that energy.

This is what he lived for for the past two years.

And he loved it.

* * *

The next day, Matthew was crashed on his bed, trying to do something like sleeping. It wasn't really working, because the afternoon light kept annoying him and getting in his eyes.

 _Dammit, light, go away._ He mentally protested. Matthew rolled over and looked at his clock.

 _12:34_

It glowed red, almost seeming to actually try to piss him off.

"Go get coffee." Matthew muttered into his pillow. "Coffee will wake you up."

 _Yeah, with it's horrible taste and burning hot temperature._

"I am not down for one of your sarcastic arguments, self. Now, go and do something productive."

 _Why am I talking to myself?_ He thought. He shook his head and rolled to one side, and fell suddenly.

Matthew landed with a loud thud on the floor.

 _Good morning, bitch!_

 _Why am I roasting myself?_

 _Agh… This doesn't make any sense…_

He decided to stop that conversation with himself quickly. Matthew stretched his limbs and rose clumsily off of the floor. He had this moment of dizziness when he got up. He had to sit back down on his bed to balance himself.

Matthew looked down, at his arms, and in the mirror. This was mostly to check that he had changed after he got home before crashing. He'd be pretty bummed if he lost his eyesight because of his own stupidity. _Not that getting out of homework wouldn't be nice_ , Matthew thought.

He looked at himself in the mirror again. The Delacroix in him said, _You look like shit._

The nice, forgiving, shy-student side of himself would much rather say, _You look a little out of it._

Of course, this was the weekend, there weren't people around, and he had no reason to assume that ego.

So, naturally, he muttered at himself, namely because he looked like a zombie and someone was bound to notice that.

 _Separate lives suck,_ Matthew whined to himself mentally. He made some halfhearted attempt at looking alive, and almost left his room. Then, he turned back around to make sure he'd changed _completely_ from his Mathieu Delacroix disguise.

Now that he felt the slightest bit more sure of himself, he left his room, snuck past his father's studio, and out into the city.

* * *

Matthew had walked sluggishly to the nearest Tim Horton's.

Now, he stood in line behind a excessively cheerful man, a curly haired blonde saying something about "L'amour", and an obnoxiously loud albino. _Seriously, how often do you see those guys around?_

Matthew tapped his foot. One of them started singing something, Matthew didn't know what it was, but he was pretty sure it was in German.

He had little knowledge of the German language, but he could catch from the way it sounded that it was rock and probably about teenage rebellion. As most rock was. Unless it was different in Germany, which he didn't really know.

Matthew suddenly recognized them. He'd seen something, something of his stepbrother's, advertising a local band. _It's them!_

'Them' was the people standing in front of him, the Bad Friends. He had no idea where the name was from, it honestly sounded like something kids would call themselves during their "I'm so random!" stage when they were in the third grade. But names didn't matter much - his stepbrother's favorite band as of late, standing right here in front of him.

 _An opportunity I probably can't pass up._ Alfred would kill him if Matthew told him about this and he hadn't gotten some sort of proof.

 _Then again, I can't just ask for pictures, that's awkward._ So, Matthew pulled out his phone, turned on the camera… and they turned around.

 _Crap!_

Matthew, in his clumsiness, tapped the camera button and got some blurred picture of their faces. _At least I got that much…_

Matthew saw his struggle had received some mixed reactions. The blonde looked almost sympathetic, the cheery brunette had just sort-of ignored Matt's phone struggle, and the albino -

Well, he was just staring, with one eyebrow raised.

"Uh, _hallo?_ "

Matthew shook himself out of his stupor. "Oh, um, hi…"

The albino took a moment to give Matthew some weird form of eye interrogation, as Matthew could describe it, staring determinedly. Then, he spoke. "Oh! You're a fan?" Matthew could hear a hint of an accent. "No, actually, my stepbrother is."

"So, you wanted autographs? Something?"

"Honestly, I just needed a picture to prove I saw you guys." Matthew felt kind-of at home among these three. _Musicians flock together, I guess._

"Well, come here!" He grabbed Matthew's wrist, gently tugged him two feet or so, closing the space, and pulled out his phone. The other two crowded in, making faces to the camera. Before Matthew could react with any more then a surprised smile, the picture was taken.

The albino looked like a punk, the blonde was blowing a kiss, and the brunette waved hapilly. Matthew looked like some mixture of innocent, happy, and what-the-hell-just-happened?

"Hey, kid, what's your name?" Matthew turned his head. The albino had obviously asked the question, the other two were on their phones now.

"Me?"

"Well, _ja_ , who else is here to ask?"

Matthew took a quick glance around. The coffee shop was pretty empty; except for the workers, they were really the only ones there.

 _Well, I guess it is afternoon, and I doubt many people drink coffee this late in the evening._

"Uh, yeah. I'm Matthew W- uh, Jones." Matthew tried to cover his blunder as best he could. Jones was also the name of his stepbrother. _Be more creative than that, Matthew!_

Thank god the albino didn't notice. "You must already know, but I'm Gilbert, also known as the awesome lead singer-" Gilbert grinned, and pointed to the two others. "The brown haired guy's the guitarist, Antonio, and the blondie's Francis, our drummer."

Matthew was actually interested in hearing about their music, but he was also really itching to get out of there. And he was really awkward in this kind of situation. _And I don't think I honestly want to leave…_

Matthew shook away his thoughts. "I bet they're good… I've gotta run, though." Matthew smiled apologetically.

"See you around?" Gilbert phrased it as a question.

"Y-yeah." Matthew nodded, turned, left the building as calmly as he could, then once he was out of sigh, he ran, with the hugest feeling of 'what the fuck just happened' ever.

Also, he forgot his coffee because of the encounter.

* * *

Hey! I had an idea... It turned into this...

Also, the chapters are named after electronic songs, in a format of song - artist. So, if you want electronic music or dupstep or something? You're welcome.

And maybe someone caught the "super-random stage" danisnotonfire reference? No? Okay...

And another and - Mathieu has an attitude that, in mind, is fairly reflective of deadmau5's. If you don't know who that is, it's a Canadian DJ. It felt appropriate.

I'll start a little section here, I guess.

* * *

Behind The Name: Chapter Name/Song Choice

(One) Your Name - Swedish House Mafia

Well, it had number one in it, and Gilbert did ask Matthew's name, so... It's basically a summary. How I so wrote it like that, I have no idea. This song just happened to come on Pandora while I was writing.


	2. Pursuit Of Happiness

Wow. Oh my god. There was really good response to the last chapter.

And that was only the first!

Holy shit!

Anyway, here I am, with this week's chapter. (because I've had all my Wi-Fi pulled and I have no other time than right now. Also, sorry it's a little short, but what did I just explain, anyway?)

Enjoy!

* * *

Pursuit Of Happiness - Kid Cudi (Steve Aoki Remix) (Project X Soundtrack)

Matthew, after making sure that Gilbert's band was gone, went back for his coffee.

Now, he was seated in his room, adventuring around the internet, sipping his coffee and, quite frankly, going over the day's events in his head.

 _Why was I so skittish? I don't even know their music, much less the actual people._

 _I was like a fangirl at a One Direction concert._

Matthew shook his head, scowling at his own thoughts. _I'm so much more mean to myself than I am to anything else._

He heard a knock on the door, then voices.

"Alfred! How are you?"

"Hey, Abel!"

Matthew just kept adventuring through Soundcloud as he heard footsteps and his door creaking open.

"Hey, Mattie!" Alfred, Matthew's younger step-brother, threw his stuff on the floor with a loud thud. He quieted his voice, then said, "How's the music comin' along?"

"It's good." Matthew replied, not bothering to turn his head. "I just can't get this one part right. It just needs… something else."

Alfred walked over to Matthew and patted his shoulder. "Yeah." Alfred said, like he understood. _Hah. Alfred, actually understanding the effort it takes to make these things. No, he just sits there and listens._

Matthew finally decided to turn away from his computer. Alfred's blue eyes and blonde hair went well with his jacket and jeans. He looked like some sort of Internet celebrity, Matthew decided.

 _Agh. Stupid fashion sense. This is what you get for being a designer's kid, Matthew._

Alfred flopped onto Matthew's bed like he owned it and kicked his shoes off.

"By the way, I saw that selfie you took with The Bad Friends." Alfred continued nonchalantly. "I'm kinda jealous."

"You saw that?!" Matthew's eyes widened.

"Yeah." Alfred put his arms behind his head and reclined. "They tweeted it. Don't you follow them on Twitter?"

 _Well, now I do._ Matthew thought, recalling the coffee shop incident.

"No." He lied. "I'm not really into that rock, or post-hardcore, or teenage-rebellion music or whatever it is you call it."  
Alfred shook his head. "You're a musician that doesn't know all his genres. Well done, Mattie, well done."

"I only need to know my niche, Alfred. I know exactly what I'm doing, because I stay in my niche."

"You really need to loosen up a bit, ya know? Do a little genre-blending. You'd attract a wider audience."

 _I guess he has a point there…_

"... That does make sense."

"Aha! Didn't I tell y-"

"Hey! To a degree," Matthew interrupted, "It makes sense to a degree. If I don't keep my basic original style, that ruins the whole track."

They sat there in silence for a few seconds, until Alfred got bored of sitting there. Alfred got up and just left the room, leaving Matthew to think about his music in silence.

* * *

 _You'd think they'd eventually get tired._ Matthew remarked in his head at the energy of the clubbers. He was back in his natural habitat, mixing electronic music for never-exhausting night owls and dancers.

This night's sneaking out was just as easy as the night before. In fact, it was almost helpful for Alfred to be there, because he could cover up any noise Matthew made with loud snores.

The music Matthew played shared that same ease, the same light-heartedness with downplays of how it was like any other time. It was like a comparison: the happiness of the party compared to the average boredom and all-around _bleh_ of a normal day.

Matthew played the music proudly and loudly, egging on the audience to keep dancing (though they probably didn't need it) and losing himself in the notes.

And then he saw it.

More like _them._

More importantly, _him._

Three familiar faces enter the club. Francis, the "L'amour" guy, Antonio, and Gilbert.

 _Gilbert._

 _Dammit! What if they recognize my voice?_

He had to think of a plan. What if they figured out? Would he be sucked into something way beyond his control? Would they think he was an ameteur?

He took a glance at his laptop.

 _5:48_

 _Good. My set's over at six, I'll be out of here soon enough._

Matthew then turned to his equipment to give his full attention to the blaring music.

* * *

Evidently, the "Bad Friends" crew had the same idea of getting out of there soon as he did.

He was leaving the club when he was confronted by the one-and-only, 'super-awesome' lead singer.

"Hey! Hey! Matthieu!"

Matthew turned around.

 _Oh dear God._

 _This is going to kill me._

"Um, hi?"

"Delacroix!" Gilbert seemed to be pretty lively, given it was six in the morning. "I have to ask you a question!"

Matthew shot him a confused look. "Hey, G-"

Shit!

"I don't even know your name yet, okay?" Matthew tried to make his best annoyed face. Really, he was pretty sure he wasn't doing very well. He hoped the neon lights from the club's signs covered up the fact that he was red with… embarrassment? Happiness that people actually knew about his music?

Whatever it was, it wasn't professional!

"Oh. Right!" Gilbert snatched something out of his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Matthew. It was basically a flyer, advertising his band. Matthew already knew most of the stuff written on it. It was all Alfred talked about, really. And he'd seen the exact same one like, fifty times. He handed it back.

"No, I meant your real name, you idiot." That was Delacroix talking, not him. He wasn't that mean.

"Oh. I'm Gilbert!" He offered his hand. Matthew took it hesitantly, mostly because he'd probably freak out.

 _Matt, it's just a handshake._

 _Why am I even thinking this?_

 _It's not like I-_

 _No._

 _Don't. Even. Go there._

"Now, what was your question?" Matthew asked.

"Well, Francis - that's our drummer-"

 _I know._

"He said, 'That Delacroix guy makes really good electronic music!'"

Matthew was probably burning up now.

"We should do a collaboration! You know, just seems like a good idea!"

Yeah. Now Matthew was really about to faint.

"...You're serious?"

"What, you don't want to work together?"

"No! It's not that!" Matthew had to control his voice. "It's just… rock? And electronic?"

"Sounds hard, doesn't it?" Gilbert grinned.

"Yeah. You never really hear much heavily-electronic-influenced rock, eh?"

"Nein. We might even be the first to try!" Gilbert seemed proud of this proclamation. "So," He said, a little more quietly, "Are you in?"

Matthew thought.

 _This is going to screw me over in the end, isn't it?_

 _I hope not._

 _Fuck it. Yolo._

"I'm in if you are."

Gilbert flashed yet another one of his snarky grins. "Great." He tore off a piece of the flyer, flipped it onto its backside, and wrote something down.

"Here." Gilbert handed it to him. "For future reference." And he winked. Winked.

Matthew looked at it. It was a phone number, probably to call to set up a - Matthew refused to call it a 'date' - to meet up and start on the project.

"I'll be seeing you?" Gilbert asked.

"Yeah." Matthew nodded, and turned to walk down the street.

 _What is it about this guy that just drives me crazy?_ Matthew thought.

 _I can't really-_

 _Shit._

Matthew cursed under his breath as he made his revelation.

 _Well, I really just fucked myself over, didn't I?_

* * *

Behind The Name: Chapter Two Song Choice

Pursuit Of Happiness - Kid Cudi (Steve Aoki Remix) (Project X Soundtrack)

I thought it fit in kind of as the song Matthew was describing during his set. You should listen to it, I think it fit really well with the chapter.

Well, it makes sense to me at two in the morning, so... why not?


	3. Sail

Twelve more followers within a day of updating?

Wow, you must really, really like this story, then.

I guess you can have a nice treat of a mini chapter, then!

This is part of the main storyline.

Also, next chapter is still set to release Saturday.

Enjoy~

* * *

Chapter Three

Sail - AWOLNATION (Feed Me Remix)

Gilbert was sitting in a dark, abandoned bar, on top of a table, with Francis and Antonio. He looked out the window that overlooked the river and sighed. The sun was just coming up.

"You seriously got him to agree to work with us?!" Francis was ecstatic.

"Yes, yes I did. Praise the awesome me!" Gilbert sipped from his beer.

"I honestly can't believe you did it!" Antonio commented. "He seems so… grouchy." Antonio mocked bear claws, scrunching up his green eyes and growling.

"Antonio, _mon ami_ , you're used to dealing with grouchy." Francis winked. "Your little Lovino is so snappy sometimes."

"Aww, but he can be really nice!" Antonio defended, his tanned skin turning a shade more pink.

Francis threw a look at him. "Save me the details, I think I understand."

"No! Not like that! Um…" Antonio drifted off, and Gilbert and Francis broke into laughter. Gilbert decided to question Francis. "So, anything new with that girl you were talking to?"

"Oh, Jeanne?" Francis said. "She's a very kind woman. Such a free spirit!" Francis's sky-blue eyes took on a faraway expression.

"Okay, it's not poetry time, Frenchie." Gilbert said, in an attempt to prevent Francis from launching into some poetic description of his newfound potential lover.

"Well, what about you, Gil?" Antonio interjected. "Since you seem to be so interested in our lives."

 _Damn you, Toni!_

"Meh." Gilbert shrugged. "No-one's been catching my eye, really."

Well, that was a lie.

Ever since he met the kid at the coffee shop, what was his name - Matthew? He'd been having mixed emotions.

"Pfft!" Francis rolled his eyes. "That's a lie if I've ever heard one."

"Yeah!" Antonio chimed in. "You're the one who's chasing all the time!"

Gilbert looked away. Then he wiggled around uncomfortably. Then, he turned back to his friends.

"Fine." He muttered. "There's this one-"

"Knew it!" Francis put his fist in the air. "Okay, continue." He said, sitting down on his heels.

Gilbert cleared his throat, glaring at Francis. "There was this one kid I saw yesterday-"

"The coffee shop kid?" Antonio said.

"Would you two stop interrupting me?!" Gilbert raised his voice. "Yes, it is the coffee shop kid. _Mein Gott,_ if you would shut up-"

"Oh, we have to find him back!" Francis jumped up. "Antonio!"

" _Si_!" Antonio shouted.

Gilbert slapped his forehead. _Why in the hell do I stick with these guys?_

"Come on!" Francis grabbed his wrist and dragged him up the stairs and through the back of the abandoned bar. "We have business to attend to now, _mon ami_!"

Then, Antonio and Francis proceeded to drag him through the streets of the city in search for the Coffee Shop Boy.

* * *

Matthew was back to his daily, everyday look, wandering through the streets with Alfred. Alfred had been bored, and Matthew had nothing better to do, and Abel wasn't up yet, so they just decided to take an adventure.

So he really wasn't expecting some crazy Europeans to turn the corner.

Two of them looked like they were dragging the other one by his wrists. The one that was being dragged looked very unwilling to be there. And the three looked fairly familiar-

"Dude."

Alfred's jaw was wide, and he stared straight ahead. "It's them!" Alfred turned and shook Matthew's arm. "Oh my God, it's them, it's them!"

"Alfred, shut up!" Matthew glared. "I can see!"

"Why do you have glasses, then?"

"You have them too, I wouldn't start." Matthew turned to the fools in front of them.

One of them, the blonde - Francis - pointed. "It's him! The Coffee Shop Kid!"

 _That's my nickname now? Okay, then. That's definitely normal. Yeah. Totally._

The trio made their way over to them - which consisted mostly of Antonio and France dragging Gilbert along.

Alfred immediately started freaking out. "Oh my God, hi!"

"Hi!" Antonio greeted happily.

Alfred was practically frothing at the mouth. Matthew rolled his eyes at his step-brother.

Francis, with an expression that screamed, "I will go down with this ship!" shoved Gilbert towards Matthew and helped Antonio distract Alfred.

"Should I ask?" Matthew said after a moment.

"Please, no." Gilbert raised his hand behind his head and rubbed his neck. "Look, I - um, here." Gilbert got something out of his pocket and handed it to him. "In case you, uh, wanna hang out or something?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow. then he smiled. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

Gilbert smiled back, with what Matthew was pretty sure was a little blush of embarrassment.

Matthew then turned his attention to his step-brother.

"I am like, your biggest fan." Alfred said to Francis and Antonio. "Dude, can I get your autograph or something?"

Francis smiled. "Why not?" Francis called to Gilbert. "Hey, Gil, do you have something for us to write on?"

"Yeah!" Gilbert produced the rest of the flyer from last night. He handed it to Francis, then all three of them signed it. Francis handed it to Alfred. "There you go, kid." Francis smiled. Antonio and Francis turned then, giving Gilbert a look. Gilbert shook his head, then followed them away.

"See you around, kid!" Antonio shouted, presumably to Alfred.

"Seeya!" Alfred turned to Matthew. Then he uttered one word:

"Dude."

"What?"

"Dude..." He drew out the word. "Hey, Mattie?"

"Hm?"

"Why were they calling you The Coffee Shop Kid?"

Matthew shook his head. "It's, uh, a long story."

"You're telling me everything when we get home."

"Fine."

Matthew and Alfred then continued their way around the city.

* * *

Behind the Name: Song Choice

Sail - AWOLNATION (Feed Me Remix)

Heh heh... because the ship 'sailed'? Get it?

Haha, I'm funny... not really but oh well...


	4. Don't Let Me Down

Hey. I'm back~

Also, it's pretty late. Oh well, though. It is technically Sunday, though.

Here, have a treat!

Enjoy~

* * *

Chapter 4

Don't Let Me Down - The Chainsmokers

Matthew threw his things down onto the floor. He shoved his bookbag under his bed, tossed his notebook off to the side, and flopped dramatically onto his bed.

It was after school on a Thursday night. There was nothing to do, no where to go, no one to bother him -

 _As if they know I'm here anyway._

The only thoughts nagging at him were A: homework - of which he probably wouldn't do until study hall tomorrow, and B: the mix he wanted to get done before tomorrow night.

 _And C,_ He added mentally, _Don't forget Gilbert._

 _God dammit, mind. Stop bringing that up!_ He shouted at himself mentally.

He'd also been wallowing around in the misery that came with total and utter confusion about _what to do with Gilbert's damn number._

Matthew huffed and looked at the ceiling.

He'd never actually paid much attention to how truly expensive his room looked. Really, he'd grown up imagining that all kids living like him had high ceilings with tall windows and nice wooden floors. He'd thought it was average. Until he'd started going to Alfred's house on occasion, finding that most places were fairly small. Now he thought it was pretty over - the - top. It worked, though, so he wasn't complaining.

It wasn't doing much for him now, though, other than being classically manilla-colored and boring.

Matthew glanced over some posters on the wall, showing some of his favorite shows and whatnot. They didn't provide anything either, except for empty stares from the eyes of the characters.

He heaved out another slightly frustrated sigh and flipped over onto his side.

He was getting very uncomfortable.

His thoughts weren't getting any better. His pillows were starting to feel uncomfortable and -

 _Shit._

He was really gonna have to something about this, wasn't he?

Matthew closed his eyes, shook his head, and pulled his phone out.

 _Matt, you're really screwing yourself over._

He hurried along adding Gilbert's number to his contact list, and started his message.

 _To: Gilbert_

 _Hello? It's Matt._

After a second of thinking, he added,

 _You know, the 'Coffee Shop Kid"._

He sent the text and waited. More so, he _hoped_ and waited.

After a few minutes, he received a reply.

 _From: Gilbert_

 _oh hey_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _I was just practicing with the band_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _so what's up?_

 _To: Gilbert_

 _I was just wondering if we could hang out or something, since I don't have anything better to do._

 _To: Gilbert_

 _But did I interrupt something? If you guys are still practicing it's fine._

Matthew had to wait for another minute or two for a reply.

 _From: Gilbert_

 _no no we just got done actually_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _I cant get this one fucking chord down but we can work on it some other day_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _so what were you thinking about doing_

 _To: Gilbert_

 _Well, I was just thinking we could all hang out somewhere. You know, you, me, and the rest of the band. Does that sound fine?_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _yeah of course_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _I can come pick you up_

Matthew didn't have a car, which sucked, but the fact that Gilbert even offered was really nice.

 _Can't say I wasn't thinking about how we'd meet up in the first place._

 _To: Gilbert_

 _Okay, great!_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _alright then_

 _From: Gilbert_

 _well be the loud black car that makes the most noise kay?_

 _To: Gilbert_

 _Haha! Okay. I'll see you then._

 _From: Gilbert_

 _seeya_

Matthew launched himself off of his bed, turned off his phone, and rushed out of his room. He sped down the stairs and out the door, yelling to his dad that he'd be back sometime later, to which there was no objection, and sat down on his doorstep. Matthew looked down the street, then up, then, nervously, brushed his hair behind his ear.

 _Dear fuck, this is making me nervous as all hell._

 _You got yourself into this,_ his mind was kind enough to remind him.

 _I know, I know._

 _This is really gonna mess me up when we're working together, isn't it?_

 _Screw it, I don't care!_

Just as he was arguing with his inner thoughts, a shiny, black car pulled up.

* * *

The window rolled down. Francis's head stuck out.

" _Bonjour_!" Francis greeted.

There was a scuffle inside the car, and Gilbert emerged from the window. "Francis, stop stealing my spotlight!" Gilbert wiggled around, and stuck himself half-inside, half-outside the window. "Why, hello there."

"Hi." Matthew raised an eyebrow. "Is there any particular reason as to why you're hanging out of a window?"

"Because hanging out of windows is a thing only cool people, like myself, are able to do!" Gilbert flashed him a grin. Matthew rolled his eyes. "I hope there's some room for me in there?"

"Yeah, yeah." Gilbert wriggled out of the window and yelled to someone in the back seat. "Move over, Toni!"

" _Si!_ "

Gilbert reappeared in the window. "Okay, there's some space back there now."

"Thanks." Matthew smiled. The backseat door was opened, and Matthew hopped inside. The seats were soft and cushy, and he smelled a tinge of Black Ice air freshener.

 _He wasn't lying when he said they'd be the loudest._ Matthew thought. There was loud rock music playing, someone was on their phone, there was a beer in the cupholder in the front. It was basically just a casual group of friends hanging out on a Thursday.

"Hi!" the guy beside Matthew said. Antonio, if he recalled correctly.

'Hello, there." Matthew greeted.

"Hey, Matt?" Gilbert yelled over the music. "Song choice? Anything?"

"I wanna listen to that Spanish Eurovision song!" Antonio called.

"Why not my song?" Francis whined.

"Toni, we are not listening to love songs from Eurovision, and Francis, we are not listening to your dumbass bubblegum song!"

"But its so good!" Francis protested.

"No, it's not. Mattie!" Gilbert turned around, looking Matthew in the eye. "Song?"

"Just turn on something by The Chainsmokers and we'll be fine!"

"Got it!" Gilbert turned back around, tapping something on his phone. "Roses?"

"Sure, whatever." Matthew nodded.

His song started playing.

Francis jumped in his seat. "I know this one!"

"Really?" Matthew scooted up in his seat to listen to Francis. They were finally driving away, to do God knows what.

"Yeah! I heard it in some club one night... I think Delacroix had a set that night!"

 _Shit!_

 _If they figure anything out, I'm screwed._

"Hey, Francy-Pants, Toni, Mattie, what do you wanna do?" Gilbert asked loudly.

"You mean you don't know?" Antonio asked.

"Why don't we just go flirt with some girls? You know, find a nice lady -"

"I don't do that, Francis!" Antonio said.

"Oh, right, Lovino." Francis rolled his eyes. "How are you staying with that one for so long?"

"Why don't we go terrorize Wal-Mart?" Gilbert suggested, cutting off the conversation.

"Haven't we already gotten banned from one of them?" Antonio countered.

 _Wait, what?_

 _Well, then. Let's go to Wal-mart and get arrested! Sounds like a great idea!_

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Matthew was trying to be rational.

"Why not?" Gilbert waved his right hand, with the other hand on the steering wheel. "We only have two Wal-Marts, the one we're not banned from is like, forever away, and there's one that's closer in the nest town."

 _I'm about to make another bad choice._

 _Fuck. I don't need to make trouble, the trouble always finds me by itself!_

"... Sure. Let's go."

"Alright!" Gilbert shouted, fist pumping. "Let's go fuck some shit up!"

 _I'm going to die._

 _Ugh, Matthew, stop making bad decisions!_

 _Whatever, it doesn't matter now. Too late._

"Yeah. Let's go!"

* * *

Song Choice: Don't Let Me Down - The Chainsmokers

I'm honestly not entirely sure how it fits. Just decide for yourself, I guess.

Also, if anyone is curious, Francis's bubblegum song is Bubblegum Girl. If you've heard of it, great! If you haven't, well, there's no one stopping you. I advise against it, though, it's sort-of rap, but I guess some of you might like that.

Francis, liking rap. I've never seen that anywhere. This is playing out to be really, _really_ unique...


	5. Revolution

Chapter Five

Revolution - Diplo ft. Faustix, Amanos, and Kai (RunDMT Remix)

Matthew would've never thought he'd be doing something like this.

Francis and Antonio were whacking each other with foam swords and axes, Gilbert was messing around with a toy parrot, the group was getting strange stares... Yeah. Not exactly what he'd have thought he'd be doing on a Thursday night.

Antonio was pretending to be a pirate and making "Arg!" noises when he struck Francis, and Francis, who Matthew was discovering to be a great actor, was cowering, with (most likely forced) tears in his eyes.

"No! Please, spare me!" He said melodramatically, holding his hands up to shield himself.

"Arg! A true pirate spares no man!" Antonio brought his foam ax down on Francis's head.

"No!" Francis made choking noises and slid to the ground.

Meanwhile, Gilbert was cooing and talking to the parrot-thing, and it kept repeating the same thing back.

"You're a pretty little birdie!" Gilbert's eyes sparkled. "Pretty birdie, pretty birdie!"

"Pretty birdie, pretty birdie!" It crowed back.

 _What have I done?_

 _Is this purgatory?_

 _Am I dead?_

Matthew pinched himself. _Dammit, I guess not._

Francis and Antonio were putting the foam weapons back. "Gilbert!"

"Hm?" Gilbert looked away from his parrot toy. "By the way, I think I broke this one." He pointed at the bird, which was now repeating "Kleiner Vogel" on an endless loop.

"Gilbert." Francis waggled his finger. "You've been a bad boy."

"Shut up, Francis. You're not my mother." He looked back at the broken bird. "We should probably leave this part of the store."

 _Stating the obvious makes people look like idiots, Gilbert._

"Yeah..." Francis looked right, then left down the aisle. "Okay, everyone, look casual!" He said.

 _Telling people to look casual usually results in way less casual-ness!_

They all slipped away, Francis whistling a tune, and Antonio looking toward the ceiling and flicking his eyes around. the only one who actually looked casual was Gilbert. He looked as if he had experience with breaking little kid's toys and running. Which, now that Matthew thought about it, probably wasn't a good thing.

 _Well, it's a good thing for now, so I'll take it!_

Matthew tried looking casual as well, only really succeeding in looking at his scuffed red Converse stupidly and putting his hands in the pockets of his old red sweater. They were in a book aisle now, which wasn't that disappointing. There were some good ones that were just published - everything about this aisle was perfectly fine, minus the fact that Antonio was looking at the kid's picture books, Francis was poring over some oldie's romance novel, and Gilbert was folding up some paper.

 _What? Oh dear God, what did i agree to when I decided to do this? i'm hanging out with a hopeless romantic, some guy who's still somehow interested in Little Einsteins or whatever, and - damn, what's Gilbert? Eh, he has the maturity of a six-year old._

 _Maybe that's why Antonio is looking at the kid's books..._

 _I don't think I'd actually be surprised..._

"Guys, I'm gonna go to the games section. I'm bored."

"Aw, don't leave us, Gil!"

"Mattie, do you wanna come along?"

Matthew's attention was snapped right back. "Uh, okay! Why not?"

Gilbert grinned his stupid grin. "Alright! Let's see if they have Guitar Hero things set out!"

"Okay, whatever." Matthew followed Gilbert across the big, wide aisle that separated the section of the store. He followed him through the maze of aisles when he was on his hunt for a game. Gilbert kept weaving around like a weasel, and Matthew had to jog along a little to catch up.

"Aw, shit, they don't have it!" Gilbert made a pouty face. "Oh, well. I have a different idea, though..." There was a curious gleam that found it's way into Gilbert's eyes. Matthew was, to put it simply, almost terrified.

Note - almost.

"Okay, I'm gonna go get Francis and Antonio, they're gonna need to hear this." Gilbert ran off, slinking through rows of electronic products on sale. Matthew decided to take a glace around. It couldn't hurt, right?

Matthew adventured though the electronics section, eventually coming to a stop near some nice headsets he'd found. _Oh, those are red, that'd go nice with Delacroix's whole red plaid stuff he has..._

"Mattie!"

Matthew nearly leaped back in surprise. He spun around to see the three bandmates standing there. "Uh, hi!"

"Come on, we're going to talk about the plan." Gilbert had his arms crossed, with a determined expression across his face.

 _Oh, God, what is he thinking?_

They gathered into a circle. "Alright, guys, here's the plan..."

* * *

Matthew never thought he'd be doing something as stupid as what he was about to do.

He sat in a cart, holding one of the foam swords from earlier, wearing a blue coat they'd snagged somewhere in the clothes section. Gilbert was behind him, holding the cart, ready to push him down the aisles. Francis and Antonio were a little further back, wearing red coats and stupid looking pirate hats, for some dumb reason.

 _I'm not actually doing this, right?_

 _Did I actually agree to this?_

"Don't worry." Gilbert spoke. "They're not gonna arrest you or anything. If anything, people should find this hilarious!"

 _Yes, yes, making jokes of American history. It's the smartest idea ever, Gilbert._

"Are we ready?" Gilbert called to Francis and Antonio.

"Yeah!"

"Alright! Mattie," Gilbert said, leaning to speak into his ear, "You might wanna hold on."

 _Okay, okay, as soon as you get your fucking face out of my ear!_

Matthew gripped the sides of the cart until his knuckles turned white. Gilbert jogged to the end of the aisle, turned, and started running across the store. "Go! Go! Talk!"

He screamed mentally.

He worked up the courage to whisper out, "the British are coming, the British are coming!"

"Louder! No-one can hear!"

"The British are coming! The British are coming!" He yelled. He raised the foam sword he'd been given and flailed it around.

Cue Francis and Antonio yelling and running after them.

People were giving them looks, some of them were laughing, someone was recording-

 _Shit! Dad'll see it!_

 _Fuck it! This is fun!_

Matthew laughed. He didn't get any attention like _this_ before. "The British are coming! The British are coming!"

Gilbert was weaving through the food section now, powering through an empty chip aisle and coming out the other side to see a blonde, slightly angered manager.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stop that." He said in a British accent. His vivid green eyes narrowed when he saw Francis and Antonio. "Oh, it's you three."

" _Bonjour,_ Arthur." Francis greeted. Francis seemed almost tentative, like Arthur was a _little_ dangerous.

"I want you prats out of my store. Now." Arthur snapped. "And you, frog! Don't plan on returning anytime soon!"

"Arthur, it's the only one in town we can go to-"

"Out!"

"Okay, okay!"

* * *

Matthew sat in the passenger seat of the car, alongside Gilbert, who, of course, drove the four away from Wal-mart.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Gilbert said, after they'd gotten farther away from the store.

"It was!" Antonio agreed.

"Well, I got yelled at." Francis pouted.

"By your ex. You definitely deserve it, given that you were 'seeing others'." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Even I know better."

"I was not!" Francis argued. "I was simply finding more interest in others!"

"That's exactly what i just said!" Gilbert yelled. "You know what? Shut it, Frenchie!"

"Alright, alright!" Matthew intervened. "Everyone shut up!"

"And he speaks!" Gilbert announced, raising his hand in a prophetic manner. "How did you enjoy getting kicked out of Wal-mart?"

"It was... definitely interesting. I don't think I would've thought of running around in a cart and screaming about the Brits. And, not to mention, angering the British manager." Matthew added.

"Arthur was-"

"I told you, I don't wanna hear your 'tragic love story'." Gilbert yelled at the Frenchman. "Yeah. I came up with that." He smirked.

"You saw that on the Internet one night!" Antonio snitched. "No, I did not!"

"We all watched it together when we were plotting for the first Wal-Mart!"

Gilbert stayed silent for a moment. "... Agh, fine!"

"You know, Francis," Matthew started, "I thought you'd take more interest in people more... uh, French."

"Of course he does! That's why he chose that Jeanne over Arthur!"

"It wasn't like that!"

Matthew laughed as they continued to tease Francis, driving off into the dark.

* * *

ANND FINALLY!

No, I don't mean it's over. Why would it be classified as 'angst' if there wasn't things happening later?

God, it took forever to get this done. And I'm guaranteeing that I didn't do this one entirely too well. I really wanted this to be released though! I love it!

I love how Antonio is always just honest as hell and corrects everything. It's beautiful...

Anyway, 'til next time.

* * *

Song choice - Revolution - Diplo ft. Faustix, Amanos, and Kai (RunDMT Remix)

Haha... I'm clever, aren't I?


	6. Eyes On Fire

Chapter Six

Blue Foundation - Eyes On Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)

Inside his room, on a dreary, rainy morning, Matthew sat at his desk, clicking around on his laptop. He played around with a few synthesizers.

 _It doesn't sound right... too... calm._

It was Friday. He was going to have to get to school soon.

 _You don't have to._ His darker side told him. _No one would notice. Half those teachers wouldn't give a damn, anyway. The trig teacher will be absolutely thrilled._

"Fine, I'll ditch. I swear, if they notice..."

 _Remember the time in middle school when they marked you present when you were sick?_

"Alright, no worries, then." Matthew muttered to himself.

His father was off talking to execs from some company, and he was just leaving him for the weekend, so he didn't have to worry about that. The people at school were the only possible danger, and they couldn't care less. Now, all Matthew had to do was...

Well, what did he have to do? He didn't give a shit about homework, the house was clean, the only thing to do was work on his increasingly frustrating track - or he could go hang out with Gilbert.

 _Once again! We find ourselves in yet another situation revolving around this Gilbert!_

 _Oh, dear God, would you shut up?_

 _Only saying how it is, Matthew._

Matthew shook his head. "Gilbert is a perfectly good guy. I am not in any situation." He said to himself. Coincidentally, right after he spoke, his phone went off with a loud, obnoxious ding.

From: Gilbert

 _hey mattie_

From: Gilbert

 _are you busy_

Matthew stared at the words. His head whipped toward his window. _Holy hell, is he stalking me or something? Can he read minds?_

Matthew decided on neither, then curled up on his bed.

To: Gilbert

 _Actually, no. Why?_

From: Gilbert

 _well you might as well not sit around and be bored all day_

From: Gilbert

 _come hang out_

From: Gilbert

 _I promise we won't piss off brits at walmart_

Matthew laughed at the memory. That Arthur guy had been pretty mad.

 _His ridiculous eyebrows were the the funniest part._

To: Gilbert

 _Okay. Can I get a ride?_

From: Gilbert

 _Sure_

From: Gilbert

 _you didnt move in the course of the past twelve hours right_

To: Gilbert

 _Nope. I'll be waiting, okay?_

From: Gilbert

 _Im on my way_

Matthew smiled. He turned off his phone, saved his work on his computer, raced downstairs, put on his shoes, and hopped outside. He gave a thought about the possibility of truancy officers, but dismissed it quickly. He was safe, he was practically invisible. Who cared?

Just as Matthew was starting to sit down, a loud black car pulled up. The door to the passenger's side was opened up for him, and he got inside. "Thanks." He looked towards the back seats. "No Antonio or Francis?"

"Nope. I forced them to get out of the house. Toni's probably dragging Lovino somewhere, and Francis said he was going to spend a day with his 'wonderful, beautiful Jeanne.' Which, I doubt," Gilbert said, looking in the rearview mirror, " That the events will be PG-13."

Matthew laughed. "It can't be that bad, can it?"

Gilbert turned his head to look at Matthew. His red eyes were open wide. "You have no idea. That man is..." Gilbert shuddered.

"O-kay, wonderful!" Matthew said, taking a sudden interest in the things flying by outside the window. "Eyes, road, please!" Matthew was slightly distressed. He didn't want to get in a car crash! Besides, that was getting a little... distracting.

 _Now, what did I say about getting yourself stuck like this again?_

 _Okay, it is not the time for this!_

"So, you, Francis, and Antonio all live together?" Matthew asked, eager to change the subject.

"Yeah. Sadly." Gilbert rolled his eyes. "As I was saying before, not the best living situation..."

Matthew nodded. "Yeah."

"But!" Gilbert put his finger up. "We divide the bills and we all pay equally, so it's way easier than doing all of it myself!"

"I get it. I wanna-"

 _Oh, shit! Hurry, make a cover-up!_

"I mean, I wanted to do something like that. But I couldn't really find a roommate, except for my brother."

"You've got a brother?" Gilbert asked.

"Well, yeah." Matthew said sheepishly. "He's technically my step-brother..."

"I've got a brother too! He's super-serious, though. And organized, and..." Gilbert looked at him. "You get it."

Matthew nodded, looking away again. "So... what exactly do you wanna do?"

They were both silent for a moment.

"Timmies?" They both said, at the same moment. They stared for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Great minds think alike!" Gilbert grinned like an idiot, laughing and making some weird hissing noise. He flicked on his turn signal, and turned towards the coffee place.

* * *

Matthew drummed his fingers on his frappé. "This, here, is my home. Or, as Antonio like to call it, _casa loco._ " Gilbert said. He opened the door for Matthew. "Great name." Matthew said, looking inside. "Definitely matches."

There were dishes stacked in the sink, a pizza box still open on the island in the middle of the room, with a few slices still inside. A stray sock was trailing from the stairs. Matthew could barely see the living room from his angle, but he figured it was just as crazy.

"I keep telling them to clean it up!" Gilbert defended. "The dishes are Antonio's job, and he's been too busy with work to tend to them. And Francis can really be lazy sometimes." Gilbert stepped ahead of Matthew, grabbing the sock and making his way upstairs, cleaning things up. "They never listen!"

Matthew was laughing. "You said your brother was a clean-freak?"

"It's genetic!" Gilbert protested, his head appearing from the stairwell. "Can you take care of the pizza box?"

"Sure." Matthew grabbed it off the counter, and shoved it into the trash can.

"Thanks." Gilbert said, stepping down the stairs and leaning against the wall.

"So..." Matthew drew out the word.

"Movie!" Gilbert shouted.

"Wha...?" Matthew narrowed his eyes, which followed Gilbert until he scampered into the living room. "Morning movie!"

"What are you talking about?" Matthew muttered, more to himself, and followed Gilbert. He gazed around the living room. All the blinds were drawn, and there was a big couch lined up to the wall, right across from a huge flat-screen. "Gilbert, this is why you have to live with two other people."

"Haven't you ever just watched movies all morning?" Gilbert said, ignoring him and shuffling through a bunch of CD's. "We're watching classics. Come on, sit down!"

"Oh... okay?" Matthew furrowed his brows, and flopped onto the couch. _Wow, this is soft!_

"I'm going to go make popcorn, and you and I are going to sit there and watch movies. The whole morning."

"Popcorn, in the morning?"

"Yes! What movie is good without popcorn?"

"Well, none, I guess..." Matthew trailed off. He heard some beeping noise, then the sound of popping, and Gilbert came back. "Okay, what do you wanna watch?"

"I don't really know any of these." Matthew said after inspecting all of the covers.

"Oh, come on!" Gilbert said. "Don't tell me you've never watched The Breakfast Club!"

"How old are you, forty?" Matthew asked.

"NO! Oh, God, no!" Gilbert shuddered. "I'm only nineteen. Gosh, Mattie! I don't think I have that many wrinkles!" Gilbert looked away. "Wait, how many wrinkles do I have?" Gilbert raced off to the bathroom, somewhere down the hallway.

"Gilbert..." Matthew shook his head. "You are ridiculous!"

"No - correction: I'm just too awesome." Gilbert said, his voice muffled. "Because I am the god of awesomeness, I have to make sure my form is completely perfect."

 _Well, no worries there!_

 _Matthew. You're hanging out. Thinking those thoughts is not permitted._

"Get over here and tell me what this movie is." Matthew said. "Please?"

"Alright, alright." Gilbert returned. "Basically, a bunch of kids get stuck in Saturday school and mess around."

"Okay... what about this one?"

"Well, you'll just have to watch!" Gilbert shot Matthew a grin and a determined look. Just then, the microwave made loud beep sound. "Popcorn!" Gilbert raced into the other room.

 _Oh, you're such a child..._

 _A day with Gilbert, watching movies. Let's see how this goes..._

* * *

"The ending to The Breakfast Club was..."

"Confusing?" Gilbert said next to him. Matthew and Gilbert had ended up on the couch together, and Matthew had donned a big, fluffy blanket. "I think they just hurried it too much." Matthew said.

"Yeah. It's good though, right?"

"I liked it." Matthew said. He was getting a bit sleepy, he was really warm and comfortable, and -

 _Wait! What time is it?!_

"Hey, Gil?" Matthew said, trying to keep panic from rising in his voice.

"Hm?"

"What time is it?"

"Uh, about eight."

"Like, night or morning?"

"Eight in the evening."

Matthew's eyes widened. He hadn't realized he'd be gone this long. "I've gotta go!"

"Aww, what for?" Gilbert whined.

"...Business." Matthew answered. It wasn't necessarily a lie, either...

"Oh, it's secret." Gilbert said. "I promise I won't tell."

"No, no, It's nothing that bad!" Matthew said. He tried to get up, but had to wriggle out from under Gilbert's arm. He hadn't realized _that_ , either. "Can you just, please, bring me home?"

Gilbert stopped messing around. "Okay, okay. I'll get you home, don't worry."

"...Thank you." Matthew said, throwing the blanket off and tossing it onto the couch. then, he went outside, waiting for Gilbert in the car.

* * *

Matthew was flustered when he got home. Gilbert had tried to make conversation with him, but mostly they were silent.

Matthew was now at his doorstep.

Gilbert was just starting to leave. "Gilbert, wait."

"What is it?"

Matthew ran over to him. "Uh, thanks for having me over. And all the movies, and popcorn..." He was certain a blush was all over his face.

"No problem, Mattie." Gilbert said.

"About me needing to leave so suddenly... I'm sorry-"

"It's not a problem. If you've gotta do something, it's fine."

"It's... it's just..." Matthew stuttered. "Um, bye..."

"I'll see you, Mattie." Gilbert smiled after him. Matthew raced to his door, hurried inside, and shut it tight behind him.

 _I'm going to explode!_

Matthew sighed heavily, slumping down in the darkness.

 _Someday... someday I'll tell him..._

* * *

Yay! Oh my God, finally, things are happening, I have room to play around!

See, even I'm freaking out. If you aren't well, then... I don't know. Maybe I didn't do the best on this one. There's always room for improvement, right?

Didn't you just feel what he would've said, had he had the confidence?

Anyway. I hope you're all excited. I know I am. I'm also freaking out from the adrenaline of having my mother looking over my shoulder every five seconds... I probably shouldn't let her see this...

Anyway! Ahem!

I will see you all later. Later being next Saturday.

Seeya.

* * *

Song Choice: Blue Foundation - Eyes On Fire (Zeds Dead Remix)

You know how your eyes kinda burn when you look at a screen too much? (And when you lock eyes with a certain someone you may or may not like-)

Yeah.

I'm on a roll. So amazingly funny, aren't I?


	7. Ease My Mind

Chapter 7

Ease My Mind - Skrillex ft. Niki & The Dove

Matthew was still sitting with his back to the door. He sighed loudly and slouched down further.

 _Ugh. I don't even know what that was._

The lights flicked on. Matthew leaped up, looking around the monochromatic glory of the living room.

"Hey! Who's there?!" He clenched his fists and narrowed his eyes.

"Jeez, it's just me, bro." Alfred walked into sight from the other end of the room, smirking. "Jesus, you scared me." Matthew grumbled. "When did you even get here?"

"Six o'clock, right on the nose." Alfred grinned. Matthew rolled his eyes. "So... you saw that?" He asked slowly.

"Yep. The whole entire thing." Alfred replied. "You're spilling everything, _now_." Alfred rushed over to him, slamming his back against the door and sitting down beside him.

"Okay, _Mom_." Matthew huffed.

"Now, now don't get an attitude with me!" Alfred said in a authorative voice and waggled his finger.

"Shut your trap. Do want me to tell you or not?"

"Oh. I'll shut up, then. Proceed."

Matthew sighed again. He leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and just said one word: "Movies."

"Uh, what are you trying to communicate, here?" Alfred complained. "Details?!"

"We watched movies." Matthew said, spreading his hands. "Literally. That's all."

"And?"

"There was nothing else."

"Oh come on, then what was all that outside?"

"I don't know, Alfred!" Matthew stood up and crossed his arms. "Why do you think I'm telling you?"

"Because I told you to." Alfred said smartly. Matthew shot him a look. "I mean, honestly, what even was that, though?"

"I don't know..." Matthew pondered. "I don't even know..."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Pssh, your life sucks."

Matthew sighed exasperatingly. "okay, sure, my life sucks. Let's just go with that. Now, I'm gonna go attempt to rest up for my show."

"You technically slept all day."

"Alfred! I'm not dealing with this right now!"

"Fine..." Alfred hopped up and made himself at home on the couch. Matthew, giving him one more sharp glare, turned and went to his room, trying and failing to rest, and only being able to think about his day with Gilbert.

* * *

"Toni! _Mon ami_ , you're doing it wrong! The eggs don't go in yet!"

"Aww, darn! I'll get it right eventually!"

"I'm certain."

Gilbert wasn't so sure he wanted to deal with the situation in the kitchen. He didn't much care whether they got into a food fight or not, as long as it didn't involve him. He was trying to think, dammit!

 _I can't believe Mattie actually liked all those movies._

"Toni!"

"What?"

"Stop playing in the flour!"

"Sorry!"

 _He did fall asleep during that other one..._

"Now, don't make a huge mess with all of that!"

 _It was honestly kinda... cute..._

"Gilbert!" Gilbert whipped his head around. "What do you want, french-fry?"

"Antonio is destroying your wonderfully organized kitchen!"

"You know what?" Gilbert said loudly. "Have fun cleaning it yourselves! I'm leaving you two!" Gilbert shook his head and whipped out his phone.

Gilbert jumped when two white-powdered hands gripped his shoulders from behind. "Where ya going?" Antonio's cheery voice said.

"Anywhere away from you two idiots." Gilbert muttered. He started a message to Matthew.

To: Mattie

 _are you busy_

Antonio gasped. "Oh, so that's what you're doing!" Antonio made a 'shh' noise. "I won't tell."

"Fuck off! It's not like that!"

"Bet you want it to be." Francis said slyly, slipping into the room.

"Both of you, go screw yourselves!" Gilbert faced the two. "We're not together, we aren't sleeping with each other, and none of that is probably gonna happen!" He growled. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Oh, why is that?" Francis tilted his head. "Because you're nervous?"

"No!" Gilbert shook his head. "Since when am I ever nervous?"

"Maybe since him." Antonio inferenced, in a rare moment of insight.

"Quit your stupid lovey-dovey shit, will you?" Gilbert muttered, looking away.

"So that is it!" Francis sat down beside him and patted his back. "I believe you've found love, _mon ami._ "

Gilbert shoved him away. "Please, just go away, will you? Stop with your romantic shit and get back in the kitchen!"

Francis and Antonio left him alone, finally, and began to chit-chat in the other room.

"Stop talking about me." Gilbert muttered, more to himself, and sent two more messages.

To: Mattie

 _i need to escape these idiots_

To: Mattie

 _and i wanna show you something_

* * *

Matthew was honestly relieved when he got Gilbert's messages. Alfred would not shut up about the day before, and Matthew was really starting to get pissed. _This is what I get for staying out 'til like, five in the morning._

Matthew sat outside, waiting. The door opened behind him, and he heard Alfred step out.

"Are you sure you don't-"

"Alfred!"

He heard the door shut behind him. _Thank God, he's gone._

Matthew saw a black, obnoxiously loud car speed down the road and screech to a halt in front of the house. Gilbert pulled the handle and kicked the door open. Matthew, raising an eyebrow, slid into the car. "Is it normal for you to kick doors open for people?"

Gilbert grinned slyly and nodded. "Only the awesomest do that."

"Certainly."

They looked at each other for a moment. "Okay, well, let's go." Matthew said shyly, looking out the window.

"Yeah." Gilbert said, equally shaky, and zoomed off.

"So, uh, where are we going?' Matthew asked.

"You'll just have to see." Matthew looked at Gilbert. He kept his eyes on the road, and though he sounded normal, his hands were tight on the steering wheel.

Matthew looked back out of the window, wondering where Gilbert was taking him.

* * *

"Uh, Gil?"

"Yeah?"

"This place looks abandoned."

"it is!"

Matthew sighed and shook his head. Gilbert was running to the back of the building and starting to pry open the door. Matthew simply looked at the place. It was an abandoned bar. All of the windows were boarded up, and so was the front door.

"Gil?" Matthew yelled. "Why are we going to an _abandoned bar_?"

"You'll see, you'll see!" Gilbert waved him over. Matthew ran to his side. "This place used to be owned by Feliciano and Lovino's grandpa."

When Matthew shot him a confused look, Gilbert explained, "My brother's with Feli.'

"Oh." Matthew nodded. "So, what happened?"

"This place was busted for a huge prostitution ring."

 _Oh, how wonderful! I'm loving where this is going!_

"They hauled off their Gramps to jail, and now..." Gilbert dusted off a chair and sat down. "Now they live together. Lovino's pretty upset about that." Gilbert snickered. Matthew gazed around the room. _I guess that makes sense..._ This did look like an ideal place for something like a prostitution ring. If it weren't so dusty and old, Matthew could actually see it happening.

"Come on, I wanna show you something." Gilbert leapt up, taking Matthew by the hand and leading him to a staircase that lead downstairs. They rushed down the stairs.

"Oh..." Matthew's mouth hung open in amazement. Gilbert had situated his whole band's things down here. The chairs and tables had all been moved to the left side of the room, and in the very back, a drumset, amps, a guitar - all were situated and ready.

"You set up all of this?" Matthew said incredulously.

"Yep!" Gilbert grinned proudly. "I organized the whole downstairs into our personal practice place."

"Wow..." Matthew breathed. "Wait, how do you get electricity?"

"Shh."Gilbert put his finger to his lips. "We have ways."

Matthew shook his head. "This is... insane."

"And over here, we have our wonderful view of the river!" Gilbert danced over in front of the window. Matthew's eyes followed, and he gazed over the shining river. "How did you do all of this?"

"Magic." Gilbert said simply. Matthew's heart thumped loudly in his chest. Gilbert was giving him the most wonderful gaze over the shoulder...

 _Matthew, keep it together!_

Matthew looked away. He knew his face was burning. He knew it, and there was nothing stopping it. _Dammit, why can't this just go away? This whole emotional thing just needs to go away!_

"Mattie?" Gilbert asked. Matthew coughed into his hand. "Hm?" Matthew mumbled, looking back at Gilbert. Gilbert had an eyebrow raised. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-no!" Matthew answered quickly. "I'm just, uh, thinking about something I've gotta do tonight!" Matthew nodded.

"You sure?" Gilbert smiled.

"Yes!" Matthew nodded.

"Do you need to leave already?" Gilbert's expression saddened in the slightest.

"No." Matthew answered. "Not yet."

"Great!" Gilbert's grin returned. He sat down on the floor and rested his back on the glass of the window. "So... what's your favorite color?"

Matthew looked at him curiously. "Are we in second grade?" He put on a childish smile and pretended to be a kid. "Oh, I didn't tell Mom I left!"

"No, we're not in second grade!" Gilbert snorted. "And last time you thought I was old!"

"Red." Matthew said, ignoring Gilbert's complaint. "My favorite color is red."

"Black is the best, in my opinion!"

"Why's that?"

"Well, it matches everything!" Gilbert explained. "And it's really cool for rock bands, and it's just a really awesome color in general..."

Matthew smiled as he listened, looking out the window and watching the sun set behind them.

* * *

Hallo!

Yeah, I, uh, really had a fun time writing this chapter. If you can't tell.

Seriously, that last line took me five minutes to some up with, and it's not even all that good...

Anyway!

Thank you so much for 50 followers! I legitimately didn't think my writing would to this well! Thank you all! *Virtual hugs*

So, as news...

The rating may be going up in the future. So, if you don't want all that... well, do what you gotta do.

Reviews, reviews! I have thirty of them... again, how? Keep it up, guys!

I originally wrote this as three whole separate chapters (T-T) so a lot of this had to be shortened so I could get it all done today!

I hope you enjoyed this one. I'll be back next weekend!

* * *

Song Choice - Ease My Mind - Skrillex ft. Niki & The Dove

Well, I figures some minds would need easing. Alfred, Francis and Antonio are annoying as all hell sometimes.


	8. Red Lips

Chapter Eight

Red Lips - GTA ft. Sam Bruno (Skrillex remix)

Matthew - Matthieu - was staring into his screen intently, listening to the sound of his creation.

"Antonio!" He called. "Try to change up those notes a bit!"

"Alright!"

"Francis! You're good, just make sure you nail that part in the middle!"

"I'll try my best, Matthieu."

He signaled them to start their piece. Antonio made a display of strumming the guitar, exaggerating his strokes. Francis kept perfect time, and he and Antonio were working well together. Antonio's solo came along, then it was back to the chorus, then Francis's outro.

Matthew stood up, raising both of his hands. "That was amazing! You killed it!"

"Thank you." Francis stood and bowed, with a smile on his face. Antonio walked - more like skipped - up to him and shook his shoulders. "You really think so?" The cheery man asked.

"Well, yeah." Matthew nodded. "I can't do guitar things." Antonio shook his shoulders a little quicker. "Thanks!"

Matthew backed away from Antonio a little and turned his head. "Gilbert! How's your lyrical genius doing?"

"I'm stuck!" Gilbert complained, scribbling at something on his paper. Matthew walked over to where he sat at a temporarily moved table and looked over his shoulder.

Matthew read the few lyrics written on the paper. _Teenage rebellion, anger, frustration - its just too... average._

"Gilbert," Matthew began, "Your lyrics are good - really good, honestly, I couldn't write lyrics if I tried! But..." Matthew looked into Gilbert's red eyes as he turned his head. "Music tells a story."

"I get it... I need a story..." Gilbert looked away, as though he were lost in thought.

Matthew sighed. He turned and looked at Francis and Antonio. "I think I'm gonna leave you here." Matthew said to no one in particular. "I'll see you bastards."

"Bye!" Antonio called happily. Matthew had already turned and was walking up the steps. He was nearly out of the building when -

"Matthieu! Delacroix!" Gilbert's voice called, his voice slightly muffled from the carpeted staircase.

"What is it?" Matthew turned and mumbled, with a tinge of annoyance.

"When will you be here next?" Gilbert asked. "Like, when can we work together next, when will you be available?"

"I don't know." Matthew muttered and turned. "Can I go home? I have a show."

"Oh..." Gilbert nodded. "Um, sorry." Gilbert and Matthew stood there for a second, and Gilbert turned and walked back to the steps.

"I'll be back tomorrow." Matthew said, without looking behind him to see Gilbert's reaction, and left without anymore words.

* * *

Nearly a half an hour later, when he'd finally walked back to his home, he was just turning the doorknob to come inside, and he heard a happy little ding come from his phone. His main phone, anyway. He'd had to get a different one specifically so he could make sure he kept his identity a secret.

From: Gilbert

 _mattie_

From: Gilbert

 _my band's done with practice shit today and im bored_

Matthew smiled. He was almost tempted to tell him to work on his lyrics, but he knew that wasn't an option. So, instead, he replied, putting his back to the door.

To: Gilbert

 _Well, what am I going to do about that?_

From: Gilbert

 _mattie_

From: Gilbert

 _im about to go get you myself then_

From: Gilbert

 _come eat pizza with me_

From: Gilbert

 _you dont wanna be bored either do you_

To: Gilbert

 _Of course not. Now, carry on, come get me._

From: Gilbert

 _pronto_

Matthew shoved his phone back in his pocket. He had a very limited time to get ready. After all, he couldn't go work with the band as himself and he couldn't just go hang out with Gilbert as Delacroix. _T_ _hat's not how it works!_

Matthew opened the door to the house.

"Matthew."

"Hey, Dad." Matthew greeted, shutting the door behind him.

"What's with the whole outfit thing you do every time you leave?" His dad asked absentmindedly, reading a book with his feet rested on the coffee table. "You really need to get those silly contacts out of your eyes."

"Dad," Matthew groaned. "It's a preference."

"You look like you're cosplaying an anime character." His dad said pointedly, looking at Matthew from over his book and raised his brows.

"Dad!"

"Just saying." His dad looked back to his book. "By the way, you should button up the flannel-"

"DAD!" Matthew shouted.

"Alright."

Matthew sighed in exasperation. He trudged to the stairs and up them to his room. As he walked inside, he shrugged off the red plaid in exchange for a nice, soft sweater. He changed into a different pair of jeans, with less holes, and kicked off his boots. He flopped onto his bed, and sighed again.

 _This is so, so tiring._ Matthew yawned. _I don't wanna do a show tonight._

Matthew bolted upright. _That's right! Oh, God, how can I explain to Gilbert..._

 _You know what? I don't have to do it! I don't have to do a show. If I want to go do something with Gilbert, then I can!_

Nodding at his own thought, he rose. Matthew pulled at the little rubber band that held back his hair, shook his head a little, and left his room. "Dad!" He started down the steps. "I'm going out again!"

His father looked behind him and at Matthew. "So this time no weird outfit?" He shook his head. "I don't get it."

"Dad, I wear the thing because I want to sometimes." Matthew lied. He heard a loud car pull up. He smiled. "I'll be going."

His father shook his head as he looked back to his book. "Alright. Don't get yourself in trouble."

"I won't, Dad." Matthew hurried out the door and over to Gilbert's car.

* * *

Matthew was back at the abandoned bar, for the third time in the past two days. _They must be here more often than I thought._

Gilbert told him to go downstairs while he grabbed the pizza from the backseat. Matthew was all to happy to, because it was starting to get really cold.

Matthew walked down the steps. When he stepped down onto the basement floor, he saw in the dim electrical light that the table from earlier was still pulled out, there were still chairs situated in various positions, and Gilbert's papers were still on the table, with a pen lying atop them.

Matthew sat down, crossed his legs, and read the papers.

"Mattie!"

Matthew quickly put down the papers. "What?" He figeted in his seat. "Don't read those!" Gilbert snatched the papers. "So, is that your diary or something?" Matthew teased.

"No!" Gilbert protested. He sat down across from Matthew. "It's lyrics."

"Lyrics for what?" Matthew already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

"For a song, duh." Gilbert rolled his eyes, smiling. "Did I ever tell you that I'm working with that Delacroix guy?"

Matthew nodded.

"Well, these are ideas for that." Gilbert shook the papers in his hand. Matthew nodded, and Gilbert tossed the papers to the floor. "Come on, let's eat. I'm not eating cold pizza." Gilbert said.

* * *

"So, what got you into music?" Matthew asked.

Gilbert looked into Matthew's eyes, still eating a slice of pizza. "You want me to tell you the whole story?" His voice was muffled by the pizza, so he sounded more like, "You wan' m' to ter da ho stowy?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Why not?" He smiled.

Gilbert swallowed the bite of pizza he'd been chewing. "Well, where do I begin? Hmm, let's start with that garage band back in Germany..."

"You used to live in Germany?" Matthew asked.

"Where else would the accent come from?" Gilbert said. "Francis is from France, and Toni is from Spain. We sort of banded together when we were touring with our other bands across Europe."

"You toured _Europe_?"

"Yeah. It was pretty fun," Gilbert shifted in his chair. "My father hated me for it, though. But he hates me anyway." Gilbert's smile twitched. Matthew wondered what he was thinking.

"I really liked their music. I've always loved music, anyway. Something about theirs was just..."

"A turning point?" Matthew suggested.

"Something like that. But I knew I didn't have that much of a chance for fame over there." Gilbert sighed. "I was always fighting with my bandmates, because... well, we just didn't get along." Gilbert said quickly. _A little too quickly_ , Matthew noted. "I think it did us better to separate. They're actually doing really well now, topping charts in Germany and such, but that's not the point!"

"I decided that, if I couldn't get along with them, and my father hated me, you know, that I would move over here, to the States." Gilbert shrugged. "My old touring friends wanted to come too, so we just... did. Nothing could keep us from music, though!" Gilbert grinned. "Pretty soon we formed the band, and now we're here!"

Matthew smiled back. "So... why did you not get along with your bandmates?"

Gilbert gulped. "Well, we just had... different opinions..." The tips of Gilbert's ears were reddening.

Matthew couldn't keep himself from digging further. "What about your father? He seems mean..."

"We just couldn't get along, you know?" Gilbert looked away. "I mean, he was always saying I was too loud, and I should worry more about having a 'real future'," Gilbert made air quotes with his fingers, "And I should find a good girl, settle down..." Gilbert shook his head. His fist thumped the table loudly. "Damn that man to hell, that's what I say!" Gilbert muttered. "In our house, when I was living with him and Ludwig, his opinion was somehow better than ours, and, he might take ours into consideration and such, but, he needs 'a real man, a man who can carry on the family name-" Gilbert stopped himself. He looked up at Matthew. "I've said too much, haven't I?"

Matthew was sitting in near-stunned amazement. "No, no, not at all..."

Matthew looked at Gilbert. His gaze was fixed on the floor, and his face was red. "Gil..."

"I-I... Damn. Damn it all." Gilbert leaned over the table, and, gently, kissed Matthew's lips. Matthew was paralyzed by shock for a moment, but he found himself putting his arms around Gilbert's neck and returning the kiss.

Their lips separated, and they sat, Gilbert still leaning over the table, with his hand on the back of Matthew's neck, and Matthew still with his arms hanging over Gilbert's shoulders.

Matthew exhaled loudly. "Uh..." Gilbert's face was still beet red. "I'm, uh, sorry-"

Matthew stopped him with another kiss. "No need to be." He said simply, smiling after they broke apart.

Gilbert inhaled sharply. "Mattie... I wasn't sure..."

"Shh!" Matthew silenced him. He buried his face into the crook of Gilbert's warm neck, and there they sat, together, in peace.

* * *

Agggghhh!

Yay!

I finally get my proper dose of PruCan fluff!

I hope you enjoyed... guess what happens next, I dare you.

I freaking dare you.

I actually know for sure that you won't get it right, so think outside the box.

Can't wait for next week, eh?

By the way, let me clarify - Matthew and Matthieu are the same exact person. So when it's a scene where they're working on the collab and they refer to him as Matthieu - its not a mistake, Matthew is the same person.

* * *

Song Choice - Red Lips - GTA ft. Sam Bruno (Skrillex remix)

Well, goddammit, they kissed. And there's such clues in this song...

If you don't go look it up, I'll put the clue here:

 _Red lips always lie._

Plus the Skrillex remix is just awesome. Need I say more?


	9. Children Of The Night (Part One)

Early A/N: I don't know what I've created

Sorry for not updating in forever, I'll explain in my later note.

Enjoy, finally.

...

 _i am so horrible with schedules_

* * *

Chapter 9

Children Of The Night - Razihel - Part One

Matthew hadn't slept very soundly last night.

He was having a pretty rough morning.

Gilbert had brought him home, (after Matthew shyly and awkwardly mentioned the time) and, with a strange attempt at a proper, normal goodbye-

 _Which ended in a kiss, Matthew, that's fairly far from normal-_

Matthew had entered his home.

Alfred had passed out playing video games, with his controller lying a few feet away, his glasses had fallen askew and were left forgotten. Matthew had heard music playing from the open door of his dad's studio, so he figured his dad had fallen asleep at his desk or was still awake.

Which, technically, meant he probably had to clean up after Alfred.

 _Why does Alfred have to eat so much junk?_

 _Why would you leave it all over the floor?_

 _And basically sleep in it?!_

 _Seriously, you eat like a pig, Alfred. How are you not fat? Or diabetic? There are diabetic kids..._

Matthew tried to wake him up, unsuccessfully, by nudging him with his foot, but Alfred just grunted like a boar and turned over. So, Matthew, being a nice, good brother, had picked up Alfred's glasses and put them up so no-one would step on them.

He was now thoroughly wishing he'd stomped on them when he'd had the chance.

 _Maybe he wouldn't have been able to get upstairs to bother me._

"Matthew Williams! There is no way!"

Alfred shouted, shaking Matthew by his shoulders.

"Would you please, for the love of sweet Jesus and all that is holy, _quiet down_?!" Matthew threw a worried look in the direction of the doorway.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "Fine." Then his eyes widened, and he looked at the door too. Then back at Matthew. "Oh..."

"Uh, yeah, _oh_ is right." Matthew crossed his arms.

"You haven-"

"Alfred."

"Okay, okay." Alfred raised his hands over his head. "I'll stop."

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "You better."

"Okay. But seriously-"

"I'm starting to dislike you very strongly."

Alfred fell back onto Matthew's bed. "Agh!"

"Well, you need to learn to keep your damn mouth shut." Matthew looked away.

"Language!"

" _You're_ telling _me_?"

"Leave that attitude for Delacroix."

Matthew didn't reply.

He looked back at Alfred. "I technically _am_ -"

"SH! I don't wanna hear it! You're grounded!"

"Pssh." Matthew rose and grabbed his laptop and headphones off of his desk and laid back down. "I'm gonna do some work, so get out unless you want to sit there for hours doing nothing."

"That actually sounds amazing." Alfred said. "I'm _so_ tired."

"Don't play video games into the night." Matthew advised absently, opening up his audio program.

"Ugh." Alfred groaned again, and threw Matthew's cover over his face. "Wake me up in a month, okay?"

"Whatever." Matthew crossed his ankles, put on his headphones, and started experimenting with sounds.

* * *

"Matthew!"

Matthew ignored whoever had spoken, keeping his attention on what he was doing to Antonio's guitar solo.

"Matthew!"

Someone shook Matthew's shoulders.

Matthew huffed and took off his headphones. "What. Do. You. Want?" He looked up.

"Gilbert!"

His phone was thrown carelessly towards him. "Hey! Be careful!"

"Whatever, dude."

Matthew rolled his eyes.

From: Gilbert

 _maaaaaaaaaaatt_

From: Gilbert

 _maaaaatthewwwwww_

Matthew raised his eyebrows.

To: Gilbert

 _Hm?_

From: Gilbert

 _come over_

From: Gilbert

 _im bored and so is francy-pants and toni_

To: Gilbert

 _In what car, exactly? You live too far away to walk._

From: Gilbert

 _im right outside_

To: Gilbert

 _Wait, what?_

From: Gilbert

 _im already outside your house_

"Matthew?"

 _Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit!_

"Who's outside?"

"Just a friend!" Matthew yelled nervously. "We're going... somewhere!"

His dad was silent for a moment. _Probably suspicious of you._

"Okay. Don't-"

"Don't die!"

"Alfred!"

"Sorry!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. He shut his laptop quickly, set it back on his desk, and ran downstairs. "I'll be back!"

And he hurried outside the door, shutting it loudly behind him.

* * *

"Hey!"

"Hi." Matthew shut Gilbert's car door quietly as he could.

"Matthew! We haven't seen you in a while!"

Matthew looked in the backseat. Antonio and Francis were in the back, along with a new, angry-looking brown-haired boy.

"We haven't!" Antonio agreed with Francis eagerly. Antonio turned to the new boy and shook his shoulder.

"What?" The boy growled.

 _A wild frustrated teen appears!_

 _God, that sounds so rude._

"Lovi, this is Matthew!"

Matthew tried to smile. "Hi..."

'Lovi', looked back at him, olive eyes narrowed and mouth in a straight line. "Hm."

 _Oh... 'kay, then..._

Matthew turned back to the front of the car. "So?"

Gilbert looked at him. "So?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Where are we going?"

"Home." Gilbert looked back to the road. "We were just getting Lovino and decided we might as well fetch you too."

"Fetch?"

"Get you? Come pick you up? Whatever you prefer."

"So, what exactly-"

"They're probably going to get drunk off their asses and make us deal with them." Lovino muttered from the backseat.

Matthew's eyes widened. _Alright, then!_

"Hmm..." Francis made a thinking sound. "Probably."

"Tch."

Matthew looked out of his window. _Well, I guess I should've expected that..._

 _This is going to be crazy, isn't it?_

* * *

And they're back! This time with snarky Lovino!

This is going to be so, so fun to write... seriously.

I know this one was pretty short, but I was _struggling._ And when I say that, I mean it. _Struggling_.

Like, I tried so many different scenarios before I finally wrote one I liked. It was originally going to pick up right after the last chapter, but I scrapped it because every time I wrote it, I couldn't write a good line or conversation. Whatsoever.

And I was so busy these past weeks. It was the final stretches of the school year, and I really needed to pick up my grades, (I was failing gym. Who fails gym, seriously. Who.) so I put my head into it and tried to get everything done on time, _which is so, so deathly rare,_ and I somehow managed to keep everything all above a D. Literally, I think I 'teacher's pet'ed through those last weeks like it was my life.

Which it is.

Oh! And I went to the State competition for Power Of The Pen!

Power Of The Pen is basically a thing at my school where you write short stories, get judged, scored, placed - I think you get it - but I managed to _slide_ my way into State, by some miracle. The State competition is two days (one night), and I had literally no time to write. Except for the competition, obviously, but that's different.

You have no idea how many fandoms were convened there.

I'm dead serious.

I saw a girl in full Harry Potter gear, two guys who were waltzing together (they were Marvel fans), a girl with an America Hetalia shirt (did I phrase that right?), floods of Panic! and twenty one pilots fans, Fairly Tail fans, someone wearing an Edward Elric shirt - my God. It was so beautiful.

I actually did well, I can post my best score for anyone who wants to read it.

But that's why I've been away for a while.

 _That's an understatement._

And there's where I'll end my Author's Note!

I'll be seeing you soon!

-Red


	10. Children Of The Night (Part Two)

Chapter 10

Children Of The Night - Razihel - Part Two

Matthew was shaking his head while leaning against the wall in the kitchen. Gilbert was telling a story about his time in Europe and Lovino was being pestered by Antonio.

Lovino pushed Antonio hopelessly and with very little effort. "This is why you don't hang out with these bastards on a Saturday."

Antonio sort of wrapped his arms around Lovino's waist. Lovino gave a half-hearted "Fuck off, Spaniard," and stopped struggling.

So, giving up hope on Lovino's case, Matthew listened to Gilbert's partially-drunken telling of his European tour.

"There was this one person down in Spain," Gilbert started, "He was like, all chill and shit-"

"My brother!" Antonio interrupted.

"Yeah, him." Gilbert nodded. "Anyway, he brought us to this weird ass bar in - 'Toni, where was it?"

"Hm... I don't remember! It was creepy though, I really didn't like it there..."

Lovino promptly rolled his eyes. "Idiot."

"Well, this guy's just like, 'You guys should loosen up, you know, relax.' So, I'm just like, whatever, and keep in mind, it's hazy as hell and I'm pretty sure there were guys in there that were _literally_ snorting stuff-"

"I did not enjoy being there for that." Francis visibly winced at the memory.

Gilbert shuddered. "There was this lady offering pot and another hanging off of Antonio, who I've just met, and next thing you know, we're in the back alley with Francis, higher than a kite, bloody and bruised because apparently we just got mugged."

"By those two girls!" Francis added.

"Yeah, because you're a total wuss and can't fight. I mean, Antonio's half-decent, but you-" Gilbert shook his head.

"I'm not that bad!"

"Try me. Try. Me."

Francis rolled his eyes and looked away.

Gilbert, now laying on the island, exhaled loudly. Then he snapped his fingers and shot up and off the island. Like a speeding bullet, he raced out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"Um..." Matthew looked around.

Francis shook his head. "He does this often." He said, answering what Matthew had been about to ask. "Usually when he has an idea."

"What kind of 'idea'...?"

"Usually something very spontaneous. So, think along the lines of... hm... maybe he's hidden a Nerf gun somewhere? Or we might go swim in the neighbor's pool again. You can never truly know." Francis snickered. "Best part is, I don't drink as much as they do. I'm always sober enough to record things if I like."

 _O-okay, then..._

"Ugh." Lovino wriggled out of Antonio's arms. "I'm going to need something to help me deal with _this_. Francis!" He took a few steps away from Antonio. "Tequila, now!"

"Okay, okay." Francis sighed and turned, taking something out of the cupboard.

Matthew's eyebrows shot up. "Uh... Lovino?"

Lovino turned toward him with an annoyed expression. "What?"

"H-how old are you, exactly..."

Lovino gave him an _almost_ loathesome look. After a pause, he answered. "Eighteen. I've been breaking the law pretty much my entire life now, so don't try and stop me."

Matthew shied away the tiniest bit, and mentally let out a loud scream.

 _Okay! Okay. Okay! Just act like you meet hardened criminals and the like every day! Nope, nothing freaky or scary or terrifying about that at all!_

 _..._

 _Holy shit. What did he do?_

Matthew shook himself back to reality. Lovino slammed a shotglass down on the counter. Suddenly, loud footsteps boomed above them.

"It seems he found what he was looking for." Francis observed.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Lovino muttered. "Fuck. I hate those commercials. Francis!"

"Yes, yes, I'm on it."

Gilbert stomped down the stairs and jumped the last three steps, barely landing on his feet.

"No." Lovino groaned. "No. Fuck. No."

Antonio, having ignored everything up until this point because he had been sitting on the floor for some strange, unknown reason, rose and looked around.

Matthew looked at Gilbert and then, felt exactly the same as Lovino did.

Gilbert, wearing a yellow onesie that looked something like a chick, carrying two more. "I couldn't find any more than this." He tossed one at Antonio and one at an alarmed Francis. "Suit up."

"God. Why?" Lovino muttered. "I'm faithful... I pray all the time... why disgrace me with this?" He shook his head. "Francis. Before you put that stupid thing on, pour me another shot."

* * *

Matthew dug his fingers into Gilbert's hair. At least, he was pretty sure he did, somewhere underneath the hood of his bird onesie. "Gil... don't you dare drop me. Don't you dare!"

"Ow, ow, ow..." Gilbert whined. "Don't yank out my precious hair, please, please..."

Matthew was perched precariously on top of Gilbert's shoulders, who was running down the street because he was racing Antonio, who was in a red and yellow spotted onesie and carrying Lovino on his shoulders, who was madly cursing things, such as:

"'Toni, if I fall I will drop-kick your ass off of the Empire State building!"

"Don't let them catch up to us, dammit! You're so fucking slow!"

"I'm falling, fuck, I'm falling! Bastard! Help! Help!"

Meanwhile, Antonio was simply laughing and running down the sidewalk.

And Francis was _way_ up ahead somewhere. Or maybe he wasn't... maybe he was hiding in a tree recording them being stupid or something.

Probably.

No, no, that's definitely what he was doing. No doubt.

 _We are definitely waking up everyone._

 _Please, people living here, don't yell at us, please..._

It was dark, and the streetlights were pretty few and far between. They were going into a little dark patch where it was harder to see. _At least, for a drunk person._ "Gilbert, try not to trip!" Matthew warned lightly.

Gilbert nodded and slowed to a stop. "Spaniard!" He yelled. "We're coming at you at the speed of... Mattie!"

"Huh?" Matthew tilted his head.

"Think of something clever!" Gilbert whispered loudly.

"But we're not even moving!"

Gilbert made a frustrated noise somewhere on the scale between a whine and a growl and started jogging again. "Now we're moving! Just... think of... something!"

"Uh... a falcon?"

"Yeah! A falcon!" Gilbert yelled, louder so Antonio and Lovino could hear them.

"You couldn't come up with that sooner?" Lovino turned his head and yelled. "Seriously?!"

Antonio stopped and turned around.

"Toni, what are you doing?" Lovino curled down in front of Antonio's face. "Hey!"

"Gil!" Matthew leaned down to Gilbert's ear and whispered. "Go! He stopped! It's our chance!"

Gilbert smirked, nodded, and sped up to a dead sprint towards the other two.

Lovino looked at them and started yelling at Antonio. Lovino un-curled himself and yanked on Antonio's hair. "Go! Move! God, you idiot, go!"

Matthew grinned and spread his arms out wide. "Caw! Caw!" He shouted as they passed Lovino and Antonio.

"Dammit... fuck off!" Lovino grumbled behind them.

Gilbert cackled and kept running. Matthew heard footsteps. _Antonio must've probably snapped out of his funk, I guess._

As they passed a stop sign, Francis hopped out from behind a tree, wearing a pale, tan onesie with cat ears. _Seriously, cat ears?_ "Surprise, surprise!" Francis held out his phone, a glow illuminating his face. "You're on camera!"

 _Knew it! I knew he was hiding behind a tree!_

 _Why is it always a tree? I mean, really, why don't you hide behind... I don't know, maybe a stop sign!_

 _..._

 _Then again, I guess you wouldn't really be 'hiding', then._

Matthew's face started to feel hot. _God, why do I have to be so camera-shy..._

He covered his face with his hands. Gilbert started charging for someone, so Matthew decided it was definitely a better idea to hold onto his shoulders and uncovered his face. Gilbert was charging after Francis, who'd dropped his phone and was running away. Matthew cheered on Gilbert, who was catching up rapidly. Suddenly, he crashed into Francis. "Oof!"

Matthew made a fairly embarrassing squeak of alarm and tightened his grip, bracing himself. All three of them fell, toppling on top of each other. Luckily, Gilbert and Francis had taken most of the impact.

"Mmph." Someone grunted.

"Agh... Mattie, please, you and Francis are like, sandwich-ing me here."

"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" Matthew apologized. He rolled himself off of the pile and lay in the grass on his back. _Hey, my glasses aren't cracked! That's good!_

Gilbert let out a gorilla-like groan, sort-of like: "Aaaahguhhhaahhh," and rolled off of Francis, landing face-down beside Matthew.

After a few seconds:

Matthew: Hey, gorilla.

Gilbert: Blegh... hi birdie.

Matthew: Where'd that come from?

Gilbert: You were acting like a bird and cawing.

Matthew: Nicely done, creative.

Gilbert: Where'd you ever get 'gorilla'?

Matthew: You made the most monkey-like noise when you rolled off of the pile.

Gilbert: I did.

Gilbert sat up beside Matthew. Matthew looked up at him in curiosity. All of a sudden, he started pounding his chest with his fists. "Aaaaguhyaahguahyaaaaaaaaa!" He yelled.

Matthew laughed. Well, it came out as a cross between a giggle and a laugh, but he'd never admit that. "Gilbert, you're gonna wake everyone up, stop!"

Gilbert stopped for a moment, looked at Matthew, and then went back to pounding his chest and making guttural gorilla-noises.

Matthewsighed, tried to calm down, and broke out into laugh-giggles again, thinking, _Okay, why am I laughing? It really isn't that funny, it's just sort of ridiculous._

 _That's why it's funny, though!_

 _I guess._

Matthew pinched Gilbert's side. "Gil! Stop, we can't stay here, we can't sleep in the neighbor's lawn."

Gilbert stopped gorilla-ing, his chest heaving. After a few long puffs of breath, he said, "Okay, that's fair. Hay, Francis!"

Francis started to say something, but then Antonio, with Lovino hanging off of his back, tumbled down on top of him. "Aaaagh!" Francis cried. "Please... you're crushing me..."

Lovino pushed away Antonio and got up, scowling. "Are you implying that I'm fat? I can't be fat, I most certainly get more exercise than you ever will!"

"Not true! I go on a walk every morning!"

Antonio intervened from his spot on the lawn. "It's true! He always irritates _us_ to go with him when the sun's barely in the sky yet!"

Lovino turned on him. "And of course _you_ wouldn't go on a damn walk, bastard! You're always taking stupid naps!"

"Well, to be fair, you're-"

Lovino slapped Antonio across his cheek. "Shut up, you _idiot_!"

"Ah, the married life!" Gilbert teased.

Lovino turned to Gilbert. "You're about to be next if you don't shut your damn mouth!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Chill, kid. Damn."

Matthew tugged on the back of Gilbert's shirt. "Gil!" He whispered.

Gilbert sighed. "Okay. So..." Gilbert's eyes lit up. "Toni, do we have bikes?"

"Uh... I don't think so-"

"Borrow some from the neighbors." Lovino cut in. "What are we doing?"

Gilbert smirked.

Lovino fell back into the grass. "God _dammit._ I didn't have enough tequila for this!"

Matthew tilted his head. Gilbert looked back at him and spoke. "You'll see." Then, he flashed his trademark mischievous grin. He stood up, and, still grinning, offered his hand. "Help up?" He asked.

Matthew blushed and took his hand. "Stop..." He mumbled, and pulled himself onto his feet.

Gilbert winked, and then: "Okay! Get out of the grass and let's go!"

Matthew let a small smile spread on his face.

 _I have a feeling this really isn't that bad._

And Gilbert started running back towards the house, Matthew running alongside him.

* * *

Hey! I hope you enjoyed this little thing! It took so, so long...

Oh, and Gilbert is just... _yes_ , Lord!

Alright, now I need ideas. Seriously! I have plans, but I just... want more, I guess. Review!

Also, what would you think if I wrote a side story with Lovi and 'Tonio?

And maybe a prequel...

See, because I'm certain someone must be curious about his 'crimes'. And how 'Toni came into the picture.

Oh, and my idea for a prequel is basically how Francis, 'Toni, and Gil met. On tour. Across Europe.

Is anyone interested...? At all...?

Well, I hope, because I'll probably will end up writing them anyway. I just was wondering, I guess.

(look, the chapter's actually 2,000 words long, that's cool)

And that'll be all!

-Red


	11. Children Of The Night (Part Three)

Chapter 11

Children Of The Night - Razihel - Part Three

"Mattie!" Gilbert whispered loudly.

Matthew turned. It was hard to see behind the dark building they stood beside, but he could vaguely make out the rest of the group leaning their bikes (Or tossing - Lovino apparently isn't fond of bicycles) on the side of said building and waiting. "Hm?"

"Come on, we're close! We just have to walk a little farther!" Gilbert grinned.

Matthew nodded and followed, parking his bike right beside the wall and joined the group.

Lovino peeked around the corner, and then, without the slightest look at them, waved them over. Matthew felt the smallest inkling that what they were doing was dangerous, but he jogged along down a darkened, empty alley.

 _Okay, you're definitely queasy about this thing. Lovino is the one you're letting lead, for God's sake._

Lovino turned and leaned against the building to their right, a tall brick structure, his gaze downward and wary. "I hope you're in the mood to climb old, rusted ladders," Lovino muttered, glancing at Matthew, "Because, first of all, you guys can't just hop to the top of the place, and second, I don't have the keys anymore, so we can't go up the stairs."

Everyone else nodded. Matthew nodded also, but with a touch of panic. Lovino's eyes gleaned with determination, and he looked upwards. Exhaling loudly, he turned away and walked down the alleyway, checking around the corners again. Satisfied, he strode towards the ladder attached to the side of the brick building, and started climbing. When Lovino reached the top, he looked around and signaled them to follow.

Antonio was the first to come up, and Francis climbed up soon after. Matthew hung back for a moment, hesitant.

He felt Gilbert squeeze his hand gently, and suddenly a warm sensation swept through him. "Birdie," Gilbert whispered. Matthew turned to face him. "Don't like heights?"

Matthew shook his head and shuddered. "Ugh, no."

"You'll be fine. Trust me, I've done this tons of times before!"

Matthew smiled bashfully and squeezed Gilbert's hand back. "Okay."

"Oi, lovebirds!" Matthew gasped as droplets of cold water fell onto his nose. "Get the hell up here!"

They both looked up. Lovino was on his hands and knees, looking down at them and scowling from the roof. "Why-" Gilbert was cut off.

"Come on!" Lovino ordered sternly. Then, he disappeared over the edge.

Gilbert shook his head."Don't go tellin' me what to do..." He grumbled. He sighed, then tugged Matthew's hand. "Come on."

Matthew nodded.

* * *

Matthew heaved himself over the edge of the roof. He panted as he lay on his stomach, and rolled onto his back.

"Don't like heights?" Lovino asked from where he was leaning on the wall of the stairwell.

Matthew shook his head. "Not at all."

"Me neither."

Matthew huffed loudly. He pulled himself into a sitting position and wrapped his arms around his knees. "So, what exactly do you guys do up here?" He asked quietly.

Gilbert, who was sitting with his legs over the edge, shrugged. "Meh... we usually just come up here to be up here."

"There is a very nice view from here, though." Francis added.

Gilbert nodded. "It's better when all of the lights from the buildings are out." He wiggled his way over to Matthew and jabbed his arm. "Hm?"

"Look up."

Matthew craned his neck back. The crescent moon hung low in the sky, and pinpoints of light dotted the pitch black sky. "Someday," Gilbert said quietly, "we could go to the river and see. I bet you'll be able to see _every single thing_."

Matthew smiled and looked at Gilbert, who was still staring upwards. "Actually?"

Gilbert turned his head. "Yeah."

Matthew looked back down into the alleyway and sighed. He un-wrapped his arms from his legs and scooted away from the edge, then turned around to face the other way.

Antonio had gotten up and was pestering Lovino about something. Lovino didn't seem very compliant, but...

"Fine! Fine!" Lovino muttered. "Gather around for the damn show."

Matthew tilted his head. "Just watch!" Matthew jumped. Gilbert had turned around and was laying on his stomach with his head in one hand. Lovino muttered something under his breath and turned to face the wall he'd been leaning on. He took a few steps back, then ran and leaped at the wall. He kicked off and grappled with the edge, and somehow, pulled himself up on top of the stairwell. Lovino pushed himself up, and stood. "There, I did it. Happy now?"

Antonio clapped. Lovino just rolled his eyes and leaped back down. "Could you teach me to do that?" Francis asked.

Lovino shot him a spiteful look. "Why would I _ever_ do that?"

"Well, maybe I could climb up Jeanne's apartment building and it'd be like a modern Rapunzel. Without the long hair."

Gilbert spoke up. "She does have really short hair."

Lovino furrowed his eyebrows. "She does... hey! I'm not teaching you anything, so don't think I'm agreeing to this, dammit!"

Matthew tried to remember.

 _Jeanne... oh! It's that woman Francis has been seeing!_

 _..._

 _Out of all of us, he'd seem the gayest, yet here he is._

 _Breaking all of the stereotypes, isn't he?_

 _Good job._

Matthew was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard yelling in the alleyway below. Gilbert was tugging at his sleeve. "Mattie! Mattie, come on! Lovino can get us into the building and we can figure something out there!"

Matthew nodded quickly. He rose to his feet and scrambled to the stairwell. Lovino was holding the door open and cursing under his breath in Italian. Everyone shuffled inside and Lovino came soon after, and then they were plunged into darkness.

Someone turned their phone on and shone it at their face. "That. Was. Awesome." Gilbert's eyes were wide open and he was grinning.

Francis raised an eyebrow. Antonio just breathed heavily and nodded.

"You guys are so, so... ugh." Lovino's voice echoed down the stairwell. Lovino's eyes went wide open but then he shook his head. "It wasn't anyone I was associated with. Just some drunk street rats, most likely." He huffed. "Let's find our way out of here. I'm not going to settle for sleeping in a basically abandoned, falling-apart fucking tower."

Matthew cleared his throat. "I second that!" Matthew announced urgently. "Let's get out of here so we don't run the risk of running into _them_ again, please!"

Lovino nodded. "He's right." Lovino pushed Francis and Antonio down a step. "Go."

* * *

After gathering at the bottom of the stairwell, Lovino warned them to watch out, just in case of any "lurkers", as he had said, and led them to the back exit. They luckily didn't run into any other complications, other than the fact that one of the already-stolen bikes had been stolen again. Antonio ended up running behind them, since Lovino had refused to stand on the back pegs and ride along.

Now they were back where they started, at Gilbert's house.

Antonio was already leaning on the wall, tired from both running and the time - it was around three or four in the morning. Of course, Matthew felt perfectly fine.

Except for the small little yawn that escaped his mouth when he'd walked inside. And maybe his eyelids started drooping.

 _Okay, fine, I'm tired. Normally I can fight it, but tonight just is not the night. Alright? Alright._

Lovino collapsed onto the couch and let out a loud yawn. He put a pillow over his head and shut his eyes.

 _guess he's down. Which also means I can't take the couch._

 _Damn it, Lovino!_

Matthew took a glance around. Francis was already upstairs or gone. Antonio was still leaning on his wall. Matthew turned his head towards Gilbert. "If the Spaniard falls asleep on the floor I can situate the place for you."

Matthew shook his head. He simply _knew_ his cheeks were going some shade of red, so he didn't even try to fight it. 'No, no, it's fine! It's fine!"

"Upstairs, third room on the left." Gilbert mumbled. "I'll be up in a minute or two."

Matthew nodded and ran right up the steps.

 _Third room, third room. Alright, there._

Matthew opened the door.

 _Hm. Surprisingly, it's actually tidy. Well, mostly._ Matthew looked at Gilbert's desk that had been forgotten in a corner. Basically anything that he didn't have a certain spot for was tossed onto here.

Matthew let his eyes sweep over the room. The walls were and off-white color, and there were black stripes painted over them. Posters of various bands hung on the wall in random places and so did a bunch of old and new flyers of his own band.

Matthew walked up to one that had originally read 'Black Eagle: European Tour 2013', but had been scribbled out to say, 'THE BAD FRIENDS: Bad Summer - European Tour 2013'. With the band name in all caps, and written in a very haphazard way. The original looked like it's been printed off of a library printer, and in no color because they couldn't afford it.

 _So, it was an impromptu tour? Across the whole continent of Europe?_

"Lookin' at my old tour stuff?"

Matthew whirled around. 'Uh, y-yeah."

Gilbert came closer and looked at the same poster. "Heh," he chuckled, "I remember that! We printed those off in one of my old bandmate's basements and kept this giant stack in the back of his car. When we took off, we'd staple those to whatever we could. One time we put one in some guy's tree."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming he didn't appreciate that much?"

"No. But I insist that it is _amazing_ decor." Gilbert imitated (correction: _butchered_ ) Francis's accent, and rolled his eyes. "At some point, we decided it was a great idea to ruin all the posters with my horrible handwriting, so, well, we did." Gilbert shrugged. "That's actually where the whole band name came from entirely."

Matthew turned and put his back to the wall. "How?"

"Because the rest of 'Black Eagle'-" Gilbert gagged. "I'm regretting that name so much now."

Matthew laughed dryly.

"The rest of the band hated us for it, and called me a bad friend. And the whole thing was probably the worst summer ever - you get it?"

Matthew nodded. "Gah! I'm drowning in my own backstory, Christ." Gilbert yawned. "Sleep?"

Matthew gave him another small nod, and Gilbert fell backwards onto his bed with a grateful sigh. Matthew kicked off his shoes and sat down on the end of the matress.

"Well?" Gilbert looked up at him with a raised brow. "Make yourself comfortable! I'll even sleep on the floor if you want me to."

Matthew shook his head. "No, it's fine." He got up, lifted the white covers, and wriggled himself underneath. Now, he lay on his side, facing the wall. He snatched a pillow and stuck it under his head.

"Nnn... can I have my pillow back?"

Matthew rolled onto his other side so he faced Gilbert. He lifted his head and flicked Gilbert's nose. "No. You said I should make myself comfortable."

"Well, I'm a pretty nice pillow, too."

Matthew's entire face transformed into a completely undiscovered shade of red and he punched Gilbert lightly in the gut.

"Ow!" He complained.

"If that hurt, you have a serious issue." Matthew rolled back on his side to face the wall again. "Night, Gil."

Gilbert yawned. "G'night, Birdie."

* * *

Welp.

This is a little late, but I wanted to get myself sort-of back to the Saturday updates so it was easier to keep up with.

I'm working on the stories I mentioned! Those are going to happen, I swear to God!

Other than that, I don't have much to say.

Later!

-Red


	12. Children Of The Night (Final)

Chapter 12

Children Of The Night - Razihel - Final

Matthew stepped down onto the wooden floor and stretched his arms. He yawned over the sound of someone making breakfast in the kitchen. Matthew looked into the living room curiously. Lovino wasn't where he had been. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I see someone's up early."

Matthew turned his half-asleep gaze over his shoulder. Francis was leaning on the counter, wearing an apron and his hair tied back with a blue ribbon. "G'morning, Francis."

Francis's mouth curved in a small smile. "Good morning. "Say, are you any good in the kitchen?"

"Hm." Matthew looked downward. "I... think so?"

"Haha." Francis waved him over. "Come here, help me out."

Matthew quietly padded over to Francis's side, slipping around a little on the floor in his socks. "Okay." Matthew drummed his fingers on the counter. "What are we making?"

Francis reached upwards and opened a cabinet. "Well, Gilbert has been absolutely ravenous for pancakes recently," Francis said as he shuffled items around. "And neither 'Tonio or Lovino much mind, so I imagined I would just make some from scratch."

Matthew's eyes lit up. "Great!"

Francis laughed. "That seemed to wake you up."

"Hey! I like pancakes!" Matthew said defensively.

"Just playing. Could you do me a favor and get the milk from the refrigerator?"

Matthew nodded. He trotted to the fridge, grabbed the milk, and then placed it on the counter gracefully. "Merci."

Francis gave Matthew the bowl of batter for him to stir and then grabbed the griddle from on top of the cabinet. Matthew rolled up his sleeves and grabbed his bear pin from his pocket, set it off to the side, and started stirring the pancake batter.

They worked in a quiet manner, communicating solely through motioning of a spatula or a tap on the counter so no one awoke.

Matthew sighed after pouring some batter onto the hot griddle and leaned against the counter.

Francis's gaze went past Matthew's shoulder. "Say, that looks quite familiar."

Matthew looked behind himself. "Oh, the pin?"

 _Come on, come on, you've been an amazing liar up to this point, don't blow your cover!_

"Oui. Do you mind if I take a look?"

Matthew cleared his throat. "Oh, yeah, of course!" He hoped his voice hadn't shook. He snatched it and shoved it into Francis's hands.

 _Bad move, bad move, that was too nervous._

"Hm. Our friend owns the very same one. He showed it to us once, very reluctantly." Francis raised an eyebrow curiously, almost seeming amused. "Matthew, might you be..." Francis leaned in. "Hiding something from us?"

Matthew's eyes darted frantically. "Pfft, no, of course not!" He rolled his eyes. "Why would I do that?"

Francis withdrew, eyebrow still raised, amused expression remaining. "I couldn't possibly know." Francis turned towards the sink to start cleaning the dirty dishes, but the his lips curved just in the slightest.

Matthew ignored this, and flipped the pancakes.

 _Oh-kay... whew. Too close. Way, way too close._

* * *

"That was an _awesome_ breakfast." Gilbert leaned back in his chair. "Not as awesome as myself, but close!" He burped loudly.

"Wonderful manners." Lovino muttered under his breath. Matthew barely overheard the comment and coughed to cover up his snicker.

Antonio nodded. "I know! Pancakes are great!" He had not heard either.

Matthew nodded once. "Ahem, uh..." Matthew started quietly. "I need to, uh, get going." Francis threw his a glance and a knowing look from where he sat on top of the counter. "I have something important that I _really_ need to get done before Monday."

 _Homework, possibly?_ Francis mouthed. Matthew pretended not to notice. "Aww, why d'ya gotta leave _now_?" Gilbert whined.

"I, uh..." Matthew looked down once. "I need to visit my mom. She's, uh, in the hospital." He started weaving a story. "She was hit by a car and she broke her... leg! And I want to see her after her surgery.

"Ah, that must be so terrible." Francis said. "We can drive you up to the hospital if you need."

"No! I mean, that's very nice, but I can't go like this." He motioned to his casual clothes and messy hair.

"Don't worry, I got ya!" Gilbert announced. "I'll just drive you home, no worries!"

 _Thank God **he's** oblivious._

"Oh, thanks Gil!"

"Oh God, don't start with the nicknames yet." Lovino grumbled to himself, yet again not realizing Matthew heard him. "Well," Matthew put his knife and fork next to each other on his syrup-covered plate. "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you want."

"I'll see you guys soon, then?" Matthew suggested.

Francis nodded silently. "Of course!" Antonio exclaimed.

Lovino shrugged, which must've been the best Matthew'd ever get. "Au revoir." Francis smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. Bye." Matthew's eyes widened as his feet rose off of the floor and was slung over Gilbert's shoulder. "Whoa-"

"I'll be back!" Gilbert called as he carried Matthew through the door.

"Whee..." Matthew said quietly as the door shut behind them. Gilbert leapt down the steps and Matthew almost fell from his arms.

"Gil!" He yelled. "I'm... fragile."

Gilbert laughed. "I'm not gonna break your neck, don't worry."

"Well, I would hope not!" Matthew realized his feet were back on the ground. He opened the car door, gave an indignant stare at Gilbert, and sat down in the sun-warmed seat. _Francis. He's onto me._ Matthew sighed. Gilbert started the car. After a moment of silence, Gilbert looked at him. "What's up?"

"Nothing!" Matthew returned his gaze quickly and smiled.

"Alrighty then." Gilbert started the drive home, and Matthew couldn't help but think what a mess he was going to get himself into now that Francis so obviously knew.

* * *

"We're home~" Gilbert singsonged. "Well, actually, you're home. I don't live here. I bet it'd be nice though."

Matthew raised his brows momentarily before shaking his head. "Yeah, actually there's a wonderful view from my window."

"I'd love to see it~" Gilbert gave him a side glance and a nudge with his elbow.

Matthew opened the door quickly. "Okay, uh-"

"Wait, no, don't leave me yet!"Gilbert grabbed his wrist and pulled him close before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

Matthew blushed fiercely. He opened his arms, hesitated for a moment, then squeezed Gilbert tightly. After some time he loosened his grip and drew back shyly. "I'll see you, Mattie. Be safe." Gilbert let go of Matthew's wrist. Like a fawn that hasn't had much experience with walking, Matthew shambled out of the car and into his house as quickly yet clumsily as possible as he heard the car drive away.

"You're lucky Dad isn't home right now." Alfred said from the couch, where he had a bag of chips and raven-haired Asian boy sitting beside him, whose eyes were glued to the screen.

"Yeah. I am." Matthew sighed. "Hi, Kiku."

"Hello." the Asian boy greeted automatically.

Matthew huffed again and started walking upstairs to his room.

"Hey, Matthew!"

"Yeah?" He stopped where he was on the stairs.

"Come on, watch some anime with me and Kiku." Matthew smiled.

"I'll be down in a moment."

* * *

Heh... heh... it's been a while, hasn't it?

Please don't kill me.

Actually, nevermind, someone should start nagging and nitpicking at me when I haven't updated within two weeks. That way I remember that I have to write stuff.

Seriously, I've been busy. I've been planning a vacation to Florida (I already know what you're thinking about, don't _even_ ) and I've been lazy and my brother and the internet broke (TWICE) and - BLAH

Also, I've been sucked into Tumblr hell. (Psst I'm Redlington over there too so you can come be a friendo if you want)

[shameless self promotion]

SO I hope you do forgive me...

In other news, I wrote a thing while I was away, so I'll put that up someday for anyone who wants to read a little one-shot while they wait for an eternity for the next chapter of _this_.

AND I'd love if you guys could give a little feedback on my writing style so I could try to improve. I personally feel as though my vocabulary could improve but I don't really know exactly what i should work on so...

I NEED YOU

Next chapter will probably be a while. Because I'll probably procrastinate a ton and never get it done within a week to begin with.

'Till next time, bye.

-Red

EDIT: lol wow I didn't know I'd confuse people the way I labeled the chapter goodness

Don't worry, it's definitely not the last chapter lol

Also I forgot to put the chapter title and number up there

I forgot how to fanfic

Anyway bye

-Red

* * *

Song Choice - Children Of The Night - Razihel

This is obvious, if I have to explain I will most likely fall flat onto my face and die.


	13. Slow Down

Chapter Thirteen

Slow Down - DJ Snake and Yellow Claw and Spanker

Matthew stared at the clock in the classroom.

 _Tick... tick... tick..._

 _Three... two... one... go._

Matthew rose from his seat immediately as the bell rang. There was a pattern to the time when the bell rang, because for some reason the clock was screwed up to the point where it would jump forward three seconds every day. So, every school day, he would calculate the exact second that the bell rang so he could get out of the building before anyone ran him over in the hallway.

Matthew made two long leaps to the door with all his stuff in hand and his backpack slung over his shoulder. he was out of the room before anyone noticed. Not like they really would anyway, but... it was nice to _think_ that they would.

He walked down the hallway, past teachers standing in the hallways and other random students and towards the light at the end of the hall-

Before someone yanked on the hood of his sweater.

"Hey, Matthew McMattahey."

 _I swear to actual fucking Jesus Christ Alfred-_

"Alfred."

His brother ran in front of him and turned around. "Why so cold, dude?"

Matthew shrugged. "You know, you have the dumbest nicknames for me."

"Well, would you rather me call you Matteronie? Matt in the Hat?" Alfred snickered. "Matilda?"

"No! I mean, don't call me Matthew McMattahey!"

"So you'll let me call you Matilda?"

"No!" A faint _ding!_ went off in a pocket of his backpack. "Hm? Who could that be?" Alfred teased.

"Alfred _d_ _on't-_ "

"I'll just get that out for you!" Alfred lunged for a zipper on Matthew's bookbag and pulled on it, then started rummaging through his stuff. He pulled out Matthew's phone. "Huh. Gilbert's asking if you wanna hang out later-"

"Give that to me, you little shit!"

"Fine..." Alfred handed Matthew his phone reluctantly. "Also, don't be an ass."

"You're an ass." Matthew shot back. He unlocked his phone and started typing a response.

 _To: Gilbert_

 _I'm down. Could yo_

He didn't finish, because Alfred started speaking.

"Matthew, you should like, actually do your homework for once. You know, stay home. Chill out. Hang out with me!" Alfred exclaimed with a dumb expression and two fingers pointed at himself.

"Why would I ever do that? You moved in, so I already have all the time in the world..." Matthew mumbled sarcastically, but deleted the text he'd written and rewrote it.

 _To: Gilbert_

 _Actually, I'm catching up with my brother today, if that's cool._

 _From: Gilbert_

 _thats totally fine. you probably dont see him much anyway_

Matthew sighed. _Actually, I live with him, but you can't know that._

"Okay." Matthew answered.

"Wait, what?" Alfred questioned. He pressed a button on a streetlight to cross the road. "You're actually gonna chill for once?"

"Yeah." Matthew nodded. The lit-up sign on the other side of the road switched to _walk_ and they both crossed to the other side.

"Sweet!" Alfred curled his hands into fists and raised both of them in the air.

Matthew raised a brow curiously and smiled. "You're weird. What will we do when we get home?"

Alfred's eyes lit up. "I want popcorn and Overwatch!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "First one there gets first turn." And with that, he took off running ahead of Alfred.

"Hey! Wait up!" Alfred whined loudly.

"You're supposed to be faster, Mr. Football Star!" Matthew shouted behind him.

"Aw, leave me alone!" Alfred complained.

Matthew cackled loudly and turned around the corner, towards the squat groups of larger-sized apartments closer to the center of the city.

Left forgotten for a single day were his stressful thoughts about his relationship with Gilbert and his work on his music.

Today was just going to be about relaxing.

And Matthew was going to enjoy it.

* * *

Here! Have a thing!

I felt a need to update because i haven't in a little while~

School is starting soon! This Monday, actually. I'm not sure how I feel, but I think I'm happy because I'll be back in the school competitive writing program so WOOO! Plus, I'll be seeing more of my friends, so that's great!

The only thing not great is that I'll be on a tighter writing schedule but whatever m8, I did it before.

Also, I've returned from Florida and I just wanted to toss this little thing in here, no matter how short it is, just for a little fun break. There will be a longer chapter very soon! Possibly tomorrow, but it will most likely be a day later. But I'll sacrifice Quantity for Quality any day!

There's not much else to say, other than-

 _THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET SERIOUS_

Ahem, what? I mean I was totally gonna say bye uhhhhh

-Red

* * *

Song Choice - Slow Down - DJ Snake and Yellow Claw and Spanker

Lol, this fic's song choices are getting more and more obvious golly gee whiz

It's because I took a little siesta from the huge plot thingy thing looming ominously in the distance that I don't want to talk about right now ;-;


	14. Little Talks

Chapter 14 - Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men

Matthew sat on the curb, waiting. It was Thursday. His father was off discussing his more recent designs with some people, so when Gilbert asked if he was busy, he gladly took up the offer to eat somewhere nice tonight.

He'd also taken some effort to dress a little nicer, wearing less-torn jeans and an actual shirt instead of just a giant sweater.

Matthew saw Gilbert's black car come around the bend and jet towards him. Matthew jumped back as Gilbert screeched to a stop and rolled down the passenger side window.

"Hey."

Matthew huffed. "Please refrain from almost running over my toes."

"Sorry." Gilbert leaned over and opened the door.

Matthew plopped onto the seat and closed the door. "Apology accepted. Where are we going?"

"Well, it's not pizza in the underground floor of an abandoned bar."

"Well, it was nice!" Matthew offered.

Gilbert gave him a pointed look, raising an eyebrow. "Really?"

"It was."

Gilbert looked away and shook his head disapprovingly. "The pizza tasted like cardboard anyway."

Matthew looked down at his feet, then back up at the road they were traveling down slowly. "Sort of."

Something must've clicked in his mind, because Gilbert looked at him and raised his eyebrows again, but this time with a smirk. "Ooooh, oka-"

"Shut up!"

Gilbert snickered, putting his eyes back on the road. "We're going to Olive Garden. Does that sound nice?"

"Yeah!" Matthew nodded his head enthusiastically. He actually secretly loved Olive Garden, so this was a win-win for Matthew.

"Great. I've already got reservations, so we'll be in there quick."

Matthew shifted around in his seat excitedly. "Chicken alfredo, chicken alfredo..." He singsonged.

Gilbert gave him a curious stare. He shook his head without a word and a small smile played on his face.

There was a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride.

* * *

Matthew rubbed his kness and drummed his fingers on the table. They were waiting for their order, and in the meantime Gilbert was entertaining him with the tale of how he met Francis.

"Our tour wasn't an official 'tour', it was more like, 'Everyone grab what they need from their house, let's go on a road trip,' so we ended up in a white van. A stereotypical white rapist van."

 _Oh Jesus, Gil-_

"When we met, it was night, everyone else was inside the van sleeping on the floor, and I went outside to pee-"

 _TMI, TMI, I didn't need to know that!_

"I opened the door, and Francis was standing beside the van with the most terrified expression. He basically looked like a deer in headlights, but as if said deer was on some crazy superhighway and just saw a bunch of other deer get hit."

 _Deer genocide._

"So he's standing there, holding a can of spraypaint, and I ask what he's doing. Of course, he doesn't speak German, so I ask in English and he's like, 'I'm sorry, but your van' - and he makes a face like this-" Gilbert screwed up his face as if he was disgusted, "-It looks too _bleh_. And I start to ask why and he's just yells, 'The. Van. Is. Fucking. Ugly!' Then he immediately apologizes for his profanity, like he would," Gilbert rolls his eyes, "And he says, 'Please, I'm doing you a favor!'"

 _"_ Has he really always been like that?" Matthew asked.

"Oh, God." Gilbert shook his head. "You have _no_ idea."

Matthew saw their waitress walk towards their table carrying plates of food. Matthew wiggled again where he sat.

"I don't think I've seen anyone this excited for food." Gilbert commented, as his plate was sat in front of him. Matthew eyed his food hungrily as it was placed on the table before him. "Thank you!" Matthew said to the waitress, who smiled in response, quickly said, "You're welcome", and rushed back to the kitchen.

Matthew picked up his silverware and dug into his food.

"What do you do?"

Matthew looked up from his food. "Huh?"

"Like, what do you do? You do something."

Matthew shrugged. "I, uh, don't do exciting things, I guess. I normally stay home after work..."

 _'Work'_.

 _"_ Well, then, where do you work?" Gilbert pressed on.

Matthew fumbled for something reasonable. "Art director!" He said loudly. Which made him sound suspicious.

Which Gilbert seemed to question for a moment, before nodding. "Cool. You seem the type to be interested in drawing." Gilbert pushed around his pasta before taking in a large mouthful.

"Yeah. Yeah." Matthew was already almost finished with his food. _Hm, small portions. Better for my health, I guess._

Gilbert apparently didn't have much of an appetite, but decided to not put his extras in a box.

"Pasta doesn't taste good when it's not fresh." Gilbert had declared with a nod of agreement from Matthew.

Now they were back in the car.

Gilbert was starting the car when Matthew noticed pasta sauce on Gilbert's face. "Gil, look at me." Matthew demanded scoldingly.

"What did I do?" Gilbert whined, but complied.

"You have sauce on your face."

Gilbert's expression switched from whiny to suggestive at light-speed. Matthew huffed and rolled his eyes. "What do you think I'm gonna do?"

Gilbert wiggled his eyebrows up and down some more. Matthew just stared at him. "Yeah, no." Matthew wiped the spot off with his thumb. "I'd only do _that_ if I was drunk." Matthew pinched Gilbert's arm - hard - as punishment, then faced forward in his seat.

"Ow! Okay, I'll stop, jeez, mom."

Matthew snorted. "Just drive, Jesus."

"You want Jesus to drive? Alright, then." Gilbert took his hands off the wheel. "No!" Matthew shouted, taking Gilbert's hands and forcing them back on the wheel. "No, no, you can drive, okay?"

Gilbert laughed. "Okay." Matthew took his hands away. He slumped down in his seat and started drifting off.

* * *

Matthew didn't remember being carried inside and placed onto Gilbert's couch, but there he was.

He was alone. The T.V. was on, and there wasn't any other light on in the place. Except for the light in the bathroom was, so Gilbert or someone else must be in there. Matthew yawned and looked toward the window. It was dark outside, so he didn't know why he'd looked out there. He put his head back on the pillow, watching what was on the television.

 _Apparently Gilbert has a thing for MTV?_ Matthew was too sleepy to change the channel, so he just kept watching.

The light in the bathroom turned off, and Gilbert came walking towards the couch. He yawned loudly and sat down beside Matthew's feet.

"Hi." Matthew mumbled.

Gilbert nearly jumped out of his skin. " _Gott_! Oh, uh, hi..." Gilbert breathed slowly. "You're awake."

"Barely..." Matthew closed his eyes again. "I'm probably gonna go back to sleep..."

He heard Gilbert shuffle around some more, and then he tapped Matthew's shoulder. "I'll lay here, if you don't mind." It was pronounced more as an offer than a command, and Matthew whispered back quietly. "Yeah, sure., I don't mind."

Gilbert managed to wedge himself in-between Matthew and the back of the couch somehow, and wrapped his arm around Matthew's waist. Matthew felt warm lips pressed to the base of his neck, then Gilbert's face nestled in the space between his neck and his shoulder. Gilbert mumbled something so quietly Matthew couldn't hear, but Matthew decided he knew exactly what it was.

Matthew fell asleep, comfortably, peacefully.

* * *

I"M WACTHING THE OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONY RIGHT NOW AND WOW

Anyway, here it is. Next chapter Saturday, as was the usual.

A little short but eh, its longer than usual, and I wrote it within five hours (plus procrastination) so yay me.

Also, I feel like something needs to be adressed.

Gilbert sounds somewhere between Gerard Way and Cody Carson when he sings. No accent, nothing, he just sounds wonderful and it's amazing.

Okay. Well, I'll see you around~

-Red

* * *

Song Choice - Little Talks - Of Monsters And Men

Well, the song is beautiful, even if it doesn't work specifically for this chapter, and the name fits. Its up for you to interpret.


	15. Rupture

Chapter 15

Rupture - Droptek

Gilbert's eyes opened.

Of course, he just closed them again and tried to go back to sleep.

When he realized that wasn't working, he reopened his eyes. His vision was a little blurry, but he saw Matthew's silhouette aligned alongside him and the T.V. was on, quietly displaying _Catfish_ on the screen. Gilbert tried to suppress a loud yawn, trying not to wake Matt.

He watched television for a few minutes, before Matthew twitched in his sleep. He shuffled around a small bit, before turning over and snuggling closer to Gilbert's chest. Gilbert leaned back (as much as you can lean back when laying down, anyway) with a questioning look. Matthew slept with his hands tucked near his chest, and that was...

 _Oh..._ Gilbert's face started heating up.

Matthew moved around a small bit more. Gilbert brought his hand up to Matthew's hair and twirled it around his finger absentmindedly. He stared at the screen as the light coming through the windows grew brighter bit by bit.

Matthew made a small noise and stretched his legs out. Gilbert looked down at him. "Good morning."

"Hm?" Matthew's eyes blinked open. "Oh, good morning..." He yawned and closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. "Hey... what time is it?"

Gilbert craned his neck to try to get a view of the clock on the wall in the other room. "Uh... about eight-thirty."

Gilbert felt Matthew start to clam up. "What's up?" He asked, concerned.

Matthew shot off the couch faster than Gilbert had seen any half-asleep person ever before, and began to search frantically for his shoes. "They're on the kitchen floor..." Gilbert offered, confused. Matthew nodded and ran off to get them. "Mattie?"

Matthew didn't say anything as he tied both of his shoes in a matter of seconds. "Mattie!" Gilbert asked, louder this time. "What's wrong?"

Matthew mumbled something. "What?" Gilbert scratched his head. "You can tell me, it's fine..."

"Work, work! It's work!" Matthew stood up. Gilbert looked away. "Okay, okay. I understand."

Matthew approached him and sat down. "I"m sorry."

"It's fine. You've gotta work, I get it." Gilbert sighed. "Will you come back? Later?"

"I don-" Matthew stopped, as if thinking. "Ha, uh, actually, I need to be somewhere..." Matthew looked down at his feet.

Gilbert thought of something. "You can come Saturday?"

Matthew looked back up. "Yeah."

Gilbert grinned. "We've got a show. You can come see us." He tilted his head. "Will you?"

Matthew nodded. Gilbert leaned in closer and kissed the boy's lips before he could leave. Matthew kissed back, and found Gilbert's hand to intertwine it with his own. He broke away and pressed his forehead to Gilbert's. "L-love you." He mumbled, his face going a deep shade of red.

"Hm?" Gilbert smiled.

"I love you." Matthew let go of Gilbert's hand and stood. "I'll be back."

Gilbert watched him as he walked towards the door. "I'll see you. Love you, Birdie!" He called. Matthew smiled widely as he exited the house and shut the door behind him.

"Okay, shout it from the rooftops then, ya bastard! Damn!" Someone yelled from upstairs. "Some people are trying to sleep!"

Gilbert cackled his strange laugh. "Shut it, Lovi! You're the one who _actually_ did it!"

Lovino didn't make any other sounds after that.

* * *

Matthew was sitting on the steps outside of school. Alfred had a detention - of course - and Matthew had to wait for him. So he'd pulled out his laptop and was passing the time playing with some new sounds he'd downloaded in the middle of study hall. He checked the time. _Almost time for him to get out of there._

 _Jesus actual Christ, hurry up._

Matthew saved his work, shut his laptop, and started shoving it into his bookbag.

He zipped his bag and looked up and down the street. He saw a car approaching, probably to pick someone up.

But it didn't stop.

 _Black, bird plush hanging from the rearview mirror - oh!_

Matthew yanked up his hoodie to conceal his face as Gilbert's car drove by, going towards something further down the road.

 _The venue is literally right down the street over there, how could I forget? It's basically the only place in town - what the hell, Matthew!_

He cursed at himself mentally, before he turned his attention to shouts from further down the building he sat beside. "Jeez, Matt, you look edgy!" Alfred yelled as he ran at him. Matthew stood up. "Come on, let's go!" He commanded, running in the opposite direction.

"Wha- huh?! Hey, dude, wait up!" Alfred skidded to a halt and whipped around as quickly as he could.

Matthew ignored him, running away in an almost panicked manner.

* * *

Antonio stuck his face to the window. "Hey, was that M-"

Francis, who was looking out the window in terror, punched Antonio in the stomach. Antonio made a pained sound. Francis leaned towards his ear and whispered as quietly as he could. "Yes, it was. I swear to God, if you tell Gilbert, I will drop you off of the Eiffel Tower. Understood?" His teeth were gritted.

Antonio looked at Francis worriedly, and nodded.

Francis relaxed his expression and sat back in his seat, trying his best to look as though they hadn't seen anything at all.

* * *

Saturday rolled around. He had arrangements made with Celeste to change his schedule (to accommodate for his 'mom' with 'a broken leg') so he could go to Gilbert's show tonight.

He walked past the school. The venue was right down the street. He thought of how he'd almost been caught the day previous. He kept walking.

It was some time before he finally reached the place.

Matthew looked at the front of the place. It was slightly unimpressive, but it was simply a mask over something he knew was greater. He could even hear the signs of activity from right outside.

An arm was placed around his shoulder. "Mattie!" A kiss was placed on his cheek.

Matthew jolted. "Ah! Oh, it's you. Hi, Gil."

Gilbert grinned and ruffled his hair. "Hey. You ready for the show later tonight?"

"Yeah." Matthew put his hands in his sweater pouch. "It's the second last one for this year." Gilbert sighed. "Last one is the Christmas show on Christmas Eve."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

There was a short silence after that. Gilbert nudged Matthew with his elbow. "Hey, you wanna go inside?" Gilbert whispered, "We can bring you backstage, you know, the full V.I.P. experience."

Matthew nodded. _I'll take pictures for Alfred, too._

Matthew started walking towards the building, but inhaled sharply when he was picked up off of his feet and was carried bridal-style by Gilbert. "Uh!? What...?"

Gilbert laughed, and Matthew gave him a 'look', with his arms crossed. Gilbert looked at him and shook his head, laughed again, and turned sideways so he could carry Matthew through the door.

* * *

AARGH I KNOW

ITS JUST SCHOOL BOOCRAP AGH

i have a genuine allergy to school

 _i have such horrifying dark circles i look like a vampire save me_

Anyway.

It took a little longer because the chapter I had written was a mess and I couldn't deal with that at all. So here, have a nice thingy thing.

There's another coming out tomorrow. Trust me this time, _it is going to happen._ I have a day off (two weeks into the school year and we already have a teacher inservice day, lol) so it will be quick. I'm pretty sure it'll release 4-6 o'clock tomorrow.

I wonder, has anyone ever actually went and listened to some of the songs I use as chapter names? I wanna know. If you review, tell me, I genuinely wanna know what you think.

* * *

Behind The Name - Rupture - Droptek

Rupture, verb: breach or disturb (a harmonious feeling or situation)

Ex: "Once trust has been lost, it can be difficult to regain."


	16. The Stage Is Set

Chapter 16

The Stage Is Set

Matthew was backstage, snapping pictures of the band getting ready to start from behind a curtain. Although the stage was a sort-of makeshift version of the auditorium of his school, it worked just as well as some of the best venues in the area. (He knew all of them.) Just as he was mass-textin his brother the pictures, he heard a tap-tap on the microphone. As the lights trained on the band and went darker, he heard the crowd's collective voice grow louder into a cheer.

Suddenly, Antonio played a loud series of notes.

 _G, F#, B, E, D, G, C, B, E, A, D._

Matthew's focus was interrupted by an even louder cheer, which grew into a scream from the audience. They all knew this song, and Matthew had an inkling that he did, too. He tried to listen in for Gilbert's voice.

 _When I was,_

 _A young boy_

 _My father, took me into the city_

 _To see a marching band_

 _He said, "Son when_

 _You grow up_

 _Will you be_

 _The saivor of the broken_

 _The beaten and the damned?"_

Matthew's eyes widened as he heard the crowd begin to sing along. He watched the widest smile come across Gilbert's face as he went off into the next verse.

 _He said, "Will you defeat them?_

 _Your demons, and all the non-believers,_

 _The plans that they have made?_

 _Because one day,_

 _I'll leave you_

 _A phantom_

 _To lead you in the summer_

 _To join the Black Parade!"_

Matthew watched as the lights grew brighter. Francis and Antonio gave each other a look and a smile, and Francis joined into the song with fervor.

He mouthed the lyrics until the very end, when they broke into song after song, and Matthew could hear their hearts in every note.

* * *

Gilbert high-fived the rest of the band members. Lovino was standing in the back of the room, looking just as salty as usual, and Antonio ran towards him as the drifters from the show slowly started to exit one by one. Gilbert clapped some burly blonde man on the back and fist-bumped with someone who looked like Lovino's twin, but with lighter hair.

Matthew stared as the light shone on Gilbert. The way the light bounced off his hair made it look a bright silvery white, the way his strange, purple-red eyes seemed to light up after the show...

Frankly, it was perfect. Not to mention how energized and upbeat he seemed. The very way he _moved_ seemed to have changed. Before, it seemed slightly menacing, but now... it was playful and light. It was obvious to Matthew now why everyone loved the Bad Friends.

Matthew half walked, half skipped over to him. He snatched up Gilbert's hands and, in a daring move, pecked both of his cheeks. Gilbert wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. Matthew blushed violently, prompting one of those, "Keseses," laughs.

He heard someone "Oooh," in the crowd. He didn't really think of the consequences, even if he knew in the back of his mind that this could break him forever. Their holding hands shouldn't be that big a deal. Who cares?

There were a few more "Ooohs," and "Aaaahs," before everyone left. _I guess they have some hot gossip, then._ Matthew muttered mentally, but with no real spite.

"How was it?" Gilbert asked enthusiastically.

Matthew said, "Great", but really he meant tons more. To make up for it, he kissed Gilbert quickly, then nuzzled his neck. Gilbert snickered quietly, the breath from his laugh displacing his hair and tickling his ear. Matthew felt his hand pat his head and run through his hair softly.

"You guys need to chill on the PDA!" Lovino hollered from the other end of the room, where he was being affctionately squeezed around the middle by Antonio.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at the hypocrisy of his statement, then turned his attention back on Matthew.

"So."

"So?" Matthew parroted back in a curious tone.

Gilbert snorted again, then picked Matthew up and carried him over his shoulder.

"Gil! Are you sure you're not gonna drop me?!" Matthew protested, smiling yet worried for his own sake.

"I'm fine." Gilbert carried him down the steps and eventally made it outside to his car, where he finally let Matthew stand on his own. "Hey," Matthew rubbed the back of his neck, "You know you don't have to do that all the time."

Gilbert looked him in the eyes as he opened the passnger side door. "I like seeing you flustered. It's cute." Gilbert walked to the other side of the car, with the smallest dusting of red on his pale face. Matthew, however, was the epitome of "flustered and cute" as Gilbert would phrase it.

He plopped into his seat as he heard the car rattle to life. "Don't you think you should get your car looked at, e-" His mouth was covered with a finger.

"Shhh. Becky is not and will never die."

Matthew tried to hold his laughter, but he couldn't. "Oh, my God. You named your car Becky."

Gilbert looked at him, bewildered. "Becky is a wonderful name!"

Matthew laughed more. He held his stomach as he wheezed out, "Oh my God, Becky."

"Don't! Don't you do it!" Gilbert protested.

"Oh my God, _Becky_ , look at her butt!" Matthew was about to faint from lack of oxygen.

Gilbert sighed. "I have to deal with that with Francis and 'Toni all the time. I thought you were above that!" He scolded lightheartedly. "How could you betray me!" Gilbert put a hand to his forehead, musical-drama style.

They both laughed for a while. Eventually Gilbert pulled himself together enough to drive home.

 _Home..._ Matthew was beginning to actually consider that place his home. He sighed contentedly as he looked out the window at the passing scenery, past the school and towards something greater.

* * *

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Mattie, those pics are mighty fine_

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Seriously, A+_

 _To: Alfredick_

 _Jesus, Alfred, you're gay._

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Aint gotta tell me twice, ya ass_

 _Also, I'll pay for more shirtless_ _'Toni_ _if you can get it_

 _To: Alfredick_

 _You are a perv. Now, I've got stuff to do._

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Like what? (insert lenny face)_

 _To: Alfredick_

 _Jesus Christ get your head out of the gutter I will stab you_

 _From: Alfredick_

 _lol_

 _Have you seen those edits on Twitter?_

 _To: Alfredick_

 _What edits?_

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Here_

Matthew looked at the images Alfred sent. They were screenshots of tweets with pictures of Gilbert and him. Apparently, someone saw some resemblance between Delacroix and Matthew, and they edited in the red eyes and outfit and _everything_.

 _To: Alfredick_

 _Oh..._

 _From: Alfredick_

 _Yeah ikr?_

Matthew didn't respond. Instead, since Gilbert was distracted with attempting to make soft pretzels, Matthew snatched his phone and hopped on Gilbert's Twitter.

He went to the settings, and mentally prepared himself for yet another lie. Gilbert had a very weak password (theblackeaglesux(Seriously, long but really, really weak)) so Matthew had no problem changing it to something else, a random series of numbers and letters, and then he logged him out, so he wouldn't see anything.

Unless Francis or Antonio leaked something to him. Matthew hoped from the deepest part of his heart that they wouldn't. With a sick feeling in his stomach now that it was done, he set down the phone and looked absently out the window.

* * *

hackzorz lololol

Also do you know how much motivation I have now?

Here have another thing Christ lol

You guys literally made me cry thank you so much oml

Also if I seem nutso it's because I haven't has a proper meal since four o'clock Saturday afternoon soooooo yeah

Anyway, heres a bonus bonus chapter because I love you jeez

-Red (Hearts omg)

* * *

Behind The Name - (Uh there's no song Red wtf)

There's no song, but the stage is set.

You know what I mean.

We're gonna start _rolling_ now guys and girls and non-binaries because _this thing is a absolute rollercoaster from here on out ngl_


	17. Runaway (U & I) (Part One)

Chapter 17

Runaway (U & I) - Galantis (Part One)

Matthew was not informed that there would be an afterparty.

After all the instruments were back in their place, Gilbert gathered everyone around.

"Guys. This has been the last main performance of the year." He snapped his fingers, and Francis ran to grab something from the cabinet. He came back with a bottle of whiskey and handed it to Gilbert. He raised the bottle and did and impromptu toast.

"To... to music!" He uncapped the bottle and took a long swig, then handed it off. Everyone in the circle took a drink, then it came to Matthew. With a nudge of silent encouragement from Gilbert, he turned up the bottle and swallowed a mouthful.

Gilbert took the bottle and put the cap back on. "So! For this year's annual festivities-" This earned an eyeroll from the blonde-haired, blue eyed man that Matthew now knew was Gilbert's brother, Ludwig. "We have a perfectly good pool, that's empty and whose owners have been away for a while right over the fence!"

"Alcohol and swimming sound just great together." Lovino muttered.

Gilbert cleared his throat. "So I'm hoping that everyone is okay with getting soaked tonight!" He laughed loudly.

Matthew had never drank much, so he was already going a little wonky, but he'd be okay. He thought, anyway.

Everyone followed Gilbert in a train towards the neighbor's house, right around the fence and to the in-ground pool.

Matthew pinched Gilbert's arm lightly. "Gil? Uh, it's really cold... and it's night, in the middle of November..."

Gilbert lifted his shirt over his head. "You'll be fine. Come on, the pool is heated!"

Matthew hadn't really cared about what came after Gilbert's removal-of-the-shirt, because honestly-

 _Did I save that picture or did that picture save me,_ Matthew thought as he snapped a discreet photo of Gilbert's upper body. He stuffed away his phone as he removed his own sweater and set it down on the ground beside him. He didn't really know what he thought about being bare-chested in front of everyone, but those thoughts we out of his mind as he was swept up and Gilbert jumped into the pool with Matthew in his arms.

As soon as he surfaced above the water, he drew in a huge breath. Gilbert surfaced beside him, laughing mischieviously.

He noticed Matthew floundering about. "I hope you know that this is standing depth?"

Matthew furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Do you think I want to drown you?"

"No." He put his feet down on the pool floor.

"See?" Gilbert stood, but his chin was barely above the water.

Matthew snorted at him. Gilbert rolled his eyes. "I'm short, but I'm also hot. And awesome as fuck. So." He snapped his fingers and swam to the poolside. Of course, there were beer cans waiting. He took one and offered another to Matthew. Matthew took it, not really sure if he'd end up actually drinking it, but he didn't want to be rude.

Of course, he ended up drinking one after another.

Eventually, he ended up playing a serious game of Chicken with Antonio and Lovino. Gilbert was the one on top of his shoulders this time. Matthew figured he'd end up drowning the man otherwise.

It was vicious. Francis was some sort of referee, counting how many times one knocked the other off of their partner's shoulders. Matthew and Gilbert won. Matthew expected Lovino to be a bit harder for them to beat. They bragged about it afterwards.

After many drinks, and a few incidents where they almost _actually_ drowned themselves, they decided it was time to get out of the pool.

So now they were sitting _beside_ the pool, talking nonsense about Ludwig's time on the soccer team. Mostly, though, why he got kicked off.

"So, apparently I was drugged up and beat up some kids." He muttered.

"Oooh, tell us more!" Gilbert pined, sitting up from where he'd been laying on the concrete.

Ludwig sighed. "I was tanked and I beat up the Polish kid. You remember."

Matthew barely remembered, but something fuzzy came up from the back of his mind. "And you got in a fight with that Russian kid. He beat your ass, hahaha..."

Ludwig gave him a sharp look. "No, he-"

" _Dude_ , you were in the hospital. Both of you!" Gilbert prodded.

"I know, I know..." he drawled. "I really didn't mean it."

"Bullshit!" Lovino called.

Ludwig shook his head. "My head aches. All of you, change the subject already, I don't give a damn."

"Little brother!" Gilbert said in mock shock.

Ludwig rolled his eyes. They drifted shut for a moment before opening again. "Little brother needs to go to sleepy~" Gilbert singsonged.

"Stop it." He stood. "I'm leaving. I'll see you."

So Ludwig left the party. That left the original five, who made their way onto the neighbor's rooftop. Matthew was surprised no-one fell and broke some sort of bone. Gilbert seemed to be very fine with openly showing affection right there, in his state. Matthew didn't much mind. Even if he was cold and shirtless and he'd probably be sick.

Gilbert nudged him. "Come on, let's ditch." He whispered. "I'm gonna show you something."

Matthew nodded, and they both tried to leave as quietly as they could, snickering about sometime when Matthew'd done something similar.

"They left, didn't they." Francis didn't ask it, it was more of a statement.

Lovino nodded, then shook his head in disapproval.

* * *

So here's a third thing lol

Here's the final one for tonight. *sigh* That was a lot of work. I'm really hungry. But I'm good.

SO I hope you can't wait, because it'll be a week or two XD

Anyway.

Sorry it was a little short. But I did three chapter in like, less than a day. Can I have a cookie?

You know how the multiple chapter event thing works, so I'll leave you here since I don't have anything else to talk about. :)

Review, review! I am really McLovin it lol

So...

Bye!

-Red


	18. Symbolism

Chapter 18

Symbolism - Electro-Light

"Remember when I said I wanted to show you a better view of the night sky?"

Matthew gasped.

The view was so much better without so many city lights. Now, he could see clearly all of the constellations in the sky and the moon hanging in the distance.

Matthew pointed into the air. "Look, that's Sagittarius. And Pisces over there-"

"I'm betting you were going to go into astronomy." Gilbert chuckled.

"Space is so cool though!"

"Oh, my little Mattie is a galaxy nerd!"

"Am not!" Matthew puffed out his cheeks. "Space is really really cool."

"Awwww!" Gilbert pinched his cheeks. "So cuuuute!"

"Hmph!" Matthew flopped onto the ground and laid down on his back. "I'm tired."

Gilbert snorted. "Pfft." He joined Matthew and stared up at the stars.

Matthew was smiling. He rolled to face Gilbert. "Hm?" Gilbert glanced at him. Matthew just moved in closer. "Mm." He shrugged. He snuggled closer to Gilbert's body.

The stars were swirling in the sky. The moon careened about and lights shot by the Earth. In a simple moment, Gilbert kissed him. It was explosive, like a supernova. Even if it wasn't the first kiss, it felt more special than the others. In some way, somehow, this one was _the_ kiss, something he knew wasn't going to fade out of his memory with alcohol.

Matthew broke away for breath. Not more than a second later he came close again for more.

* * *

Matthew blinked.

He noticed the morning light that filtered through the blinds. He noticed the colors of the wall and the covers he was wrapped in.

 _Oh, I'm at Gil's. Hm._

Instead of getting up out of bed, he nuzzled his face into his pillow and shut his eyes.

* * *

Matthew heard a thud followed by some cursing and laughter.

 _Hm. I should get up._

Matthew promptly snuggled back into the covers.

* * *

Matthew's eyes opened once more.

He had a headache.

He shook his head and ruffled his hair.

"Agh..."

He heard a similar grunt from the other side of the bed.

"Morning..."

"Uh-huh."

Matthew snorted. "Come on, sleepyhead." He turned and gave Gilbert a nudge.

"Nhhh." Gilbert rolled around in his blankets before dropping off the bed suddenly. "AGH! Goddammit... owww..."

"Ahaha!" Matthew laughed. "Hmph." Gilbert sat up with a disgruntled look on his face. "When did we get back here?"

"Uh, I dunno." Matthew scratched the back of his neck. "I guess we decided that sleeping outdoors wasn't a good idea?"

"That makes sense." Gilbert stretched. "I wouldn't want to sleep in the grass."

Matthew racked his brain. "Grass!"

"What?"

"We were laying in the grass in the park or something? I can remember that."

Gilbert coughed. "Ahem, uh. Okay." His face was tinted with a shade of red.

Matthew rolled his eyes. "I would remember if we had made ou-"

"Okay! What do you say we go downstairs and eat breakfast?!" Gilbert was blushing wildly.

"Oh, how cute." Matthew teased, grinning.

"S-shut it." Gilbert protested. Matthew shook his head. "Come on you goofball."

Gilbert gave him a grumpy look and followed him.

* * *

Hey!

So I know things have been kind of... insane... I'm back! And though this chapter may be short (like really short wtf Red), I just got out of writer's block, a cringy relationship, and an academic nightmare. Cut me some slack, man.

You guys are in for a holiday special soon! One that will be nice! The next one... hm... not so much...

OH WELL WHO AM I DROPPING CRAZY HINTS I'LL JUST HURRY ALONG

I love little Gilbert, he's just too adorable today damn

ALSO Mattie is just too space nerd for me. I'm a space nerd, he's a space nerd. It was bound to happen even if he doesn't like launch spaceships

Canadians, you are free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Okay. If any of you watch Gotham... uh, I'm MAD! Why does Isabella have to exist? _Why must she get in between my ship?_

 _ED NYGMA YOU ARE GROUNDED_

Okay, enough of my rambling.

This is Redlington, signing off. *salute*

-Red

* * *

Behind The Name - Electro-Light - Symbolism

Ahem. I'm clever. You can see what I did here. Can't you? ;)


	19. My Galaxy

Chapter 19

My Galaxy - Eminence & Markus Cole Ft. Q'AILA

Apparently, Gilbert liked to party hard on Thanksgiving.

Matthew knocked on the door. There was a crash inside, then someone yelled. "Shit!"

Matthew grinned and shook his head. The door opened.

"Mattie?!"

Matthew waved. "Hi!"

"Did you walk all the way here?!"

"Yup!"

" _Gott_ , get inside!" Gilbert grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into the house. "You know it's winter, right?"

Matthew laughed and shook his head. "I heard a ruckus. What's going o-"

Matthew stared around at a chaotically decorated living room. The kitchen had bags of chips and various snacks strewn about on the island, and streamers were hanging off of nearly every visible surface.

Antonio was trying to get Lovino to wear a napkin he'd folded into a hat. Lovino swatted it off of his head.

Feliciano was playing with the streamers.

Francis leaned against the kitchen wall and smiled.

"Uhm." Gilbert averted his gaze.

"This is going to take a very long time to clean up, isn't it?" Matthew gave him a look with one eyebrow raised.

"Feliciano, sit down for just one minute, would you?!"

"Heh. Uh, yeah." Gilbert scratched the back of his neck. "Well, let's just enjoy it while we can!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "You are such a child." He teased. He waved faintly at Feliciano, who'd just noticed someone else had entered the house.

"Matthew, good to see you! Bonjour!" Francis greeted.

"Hi." Matthew took a sudden interest in fixing a stray curl of his hair. _Act normal._

Francis waved him over. Matthew felt dread weighing down his body. _What is he going to tell me? I already know he's figured out my secret. Don't tell me..._ Matthew shook his head. "Uh, Francis..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing!"

Matthew was silent. The others were having a nice time themselves. Gilbert had started talking to his brother Ludwig, who Matthew hadn't noticed before.

Francis gave him a look. "Matthew."

Matthew looked at his feet. "I'm trying to keep my secret, okay? I'm trying."

"You do know he's going to find out eventually?"

Matthew sighed.

Francis smiled. "I thought so. You see, Gilbert might be a highschool dropout. I mean, we all are. And although Gilbert isn't the brightest, he will find out soon."

Matthew scowled. "How soon?"

"I'd say... a week or two. He's already caught on to your odd timing and schedule. And now you've been acting _so_ uptight, he'll definitely wonder."

Matthew looked Francis right in the eyes. "You know what? I'll tell him myself."

Francis was shaken. "Isn't that an unexpected turn?"

He saw something else in Matthew now. It was his alter-ego. It must be. He occasionally showed his other side, but this was unprecedented. In Matthew, there was a brave soul, unlike the timid boy everyone saw.

Francis tilted his head. "Well?"

Matthew nodded.

"I don't think this will go well."

"Me neither, Francis."

 _Me neither._

* * *

Matthew already regretted what he'd said.

 _I..._

 _Guess I made a dumb promise, didn't I?_

 _Well, now I have to._

Matthew closed his eyes.

 _I can't do this... I can't. Not today._

Matthew hadn't expected his mood to turn like this within such a short time. It made him feel like he was spoiling the bash. He told himself to shake it off.

"Matt! We want to play a game with you!" Feliciano shouted. "Come join us! Pretty please?"

Matthew breathed deeply. "Okay!"

* * *

"Uhm... Gil..." Matthew tapped Gilbert's shoulder. "You're, uh, supposed to be bringing me home, not trying to keep me here?"

"Um - oh, yeah, oops." Gilbert had been leaning over the center console, kissing Matthew and wishing he could stay.

"Right." Gilbert snaked his hands back and put them onto the steering wheel. He hadn't even started the car yet.

He put his keys into the ignition and the car shook to life. "Next destination: her Majesty's home."

Gilbert grinned wide when Matthew let out a quiet laugh. "Now now, driver, stay focused! No witty remarks either!" He played along.

"As if-"

"That is an order from your Queen!"

"Pfft." Gilbert started laughing in his strange hiss. "Alright. Let's get home, shall we?"

* * *

Matthew opened the passenger door.

He hesitated for a moment.

 _Is something up?_

 _Maybe he wants to come back?_

 _That would be nice... I'd love that..._

"Gilbert?"

"What's up?"

Matthew was silent for a few moments. Then he took Gilbert's hand in his. "I'll see you next weekend, right?"

Gilbert furrowed his brows.

 _What kind of question...?_

"Of course. Why wouldn't you?"

"Nothing, nothing." Matthew wriggled out of the car.

"I'll see you..."

"Yeah." Matthew waved, then turned around and walked away.

 _I... hope nothing's up with him._

"Mattie...!"

He was already inside.

* * *

Well, here it is.

After long enough, I know.

I was in the worst writer's block. And I didn't want you guys to suffer through with sub-par chapters, soooooo I sort of extended my hiatus without telling anyone... I apologize deeply. I will be writing around the clock to catch up, don't worry! I found my inspiration back! The show goes on!

Since I'm not gonna give away anymore hints or anything, I'm going to sign off. I'll be updatin gthe next couple chapters without my little section and all you'll have is the Behind the Name segment. I'll give you guys a status update at the end of my streak.

Signing off for now,

-Red

* * *

Behind The Name: My Galaxy - Eminence & Markus Cole Ft. Q'AILA

When you listen to the song, one of the lyrics is basically "You're a part of my galaxy". Given the events of Symblolism, it's sort of like Matthew has become part of Gilbert's inner circle, his 'galaxy'.


	20. Miss Jackson

Chapter 20

Miss Jackson - Panic! At The Disco

Gilbert stared up at the ceiling.

He was thinking about the past few weeks.

About all the things he'd done.

About all of his gigs.

His bandmates.

The people - well, the person - that he'd met, who'd somehow brightened his future with a kiss in a basement. Now, that had to take some magic to do.

Gilbert sighed heavily. He turned onto his side. He sometimes liked to think about what his father would say now. After all of this, would he have changed? Or would he stay the same stoic man he was? Was he proud? _Well... probably not. But that doesn't matter anymore._

For some reason, he felt... nostalgic.

 _Hm... I'll go back to Germany sometime._

 _Would Matthew come with me?_

Gilbert smiled.

 _Of course._

 _Oh, what Dad'll say when I show him how far I've come!_

Gilbert grinned at the thought of his father meeting Matthew. Even if he did react badly, maybe Gilbert could have one last shot at talking to his dad again.

 _I'll make plans... soon!_

 _Germany, I'm coming back!_

 _Brace yourself!_

* * *

Gilbert didn't know he might have to brace _himself_ instead.

It was the next weekend. Matthew had been busy doing something for the last few days. He was always busy doing something... it was always a mystery, too.

Gilbert had finally finished the lyrics to the collaboration. They still didn't know what they were going to call it, but for now they were just calling by the name "Project". Very original.

He was still a little iffy with them. They just didn't feel right. In fact, the collab felt just a little janky. Like something was fundamentally missing.

It was similarly strange when he picked up Matthew. He looked like he'd just come back from elsewhere.

Gilbert had reason to be curious. Maybe it was just the cold that Matthew'd been standing in that made his nose and ears red, but he'd only been out for a few moments.

 _Stop overthinking! You'll crash the car or something, you idiot!_

Now Matthew was acting normal. As normal as normal could be!

They'd decided to go out to an actual theater for a movie this time. It was average, with an average movie and average movie-goers.

Average!

Everything seemed perfectly average but one thing-

Matthew.

He seemed anxious. He actually seemed way more on edge than he ever had been. What was so off?! Did something change?!

It was stressing Gilbert so much.

So when they left the theater and got back into the car, Gilbert just couldn't keep himself from asking.

"Matthew?"

Matthew raised an eyebrow Gilbert could barely see it in the darkness of night, but Matthew was . "What is it?"

"Well, I mean... what's up? Why are you freaking out so much? I just don't get it... did I make you uncomfortable?"

"It's... nothing." Matthew huffed.

"It's obviously something!"

"Are you angry?"

"No!" Gilbert exclaimed defensively.

"Gil, I'm... fine."

Gilbert furrowed his brows. "Sure."

* * *

Gilbert tried to ignore the obvious tension between the two of them. Matthew was very clearly trying to do the same.

"Mattie-"

"I can't - Gilbert!" Matthew balled his fists. "I've lied to you this entire time, and I just - ugh, I can't do this anymore!"

"Are you sick of me?" Gilbert sighed. "I-"

"No! Gilbert! How could you have not noticed - I'm Delacroix! Delacroix is me, I've been doing performing nearly every weekend and being a student on the side - Gilbert, I'm not who I said I was!"

Gilbert almost wanted to laugh. "You _are_ kidding, right?"

"Really?" Matthew started to get flustered. "I think this is one of the few times I've told you the truth!"

Silence.

"So are you lying about being Delacroix too? Or maybe you are Delacroix, but you're lying about being a student? Maybe you're both of those things, and you just lied to me about your feelings."

"Gilbert-"

"How am I supposed to know what's true and what's not, Matthew?"

"I'm sorry..."

Gilbert suddenly felt pangs of regret. Matthew might have lied about _everything_ , but... he didn't deserve to be shamed like this. "Matthew... you know, I just want to think about this for a while, okay?"

"What do you mean...?"

Gilbert sighed. "I... I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. But you decided to unload all of this on me _now_? I just... want to spend some time thinking this over."

"You mean-"

"Alone. I'm sorry, Matthew..."

Matthew was quiet for a moment. "No, I'm sorry. I got you into all of this. I shouldn't have caused all this doubt - you're right. I'm just going to..." Matthew shrugged.

"Yeah." Gilbert nodded.

"I'll, uh, walk-"

"Matt - I might have said I wanted my own time, but I'm refusing to let you walk home in the cold. I'll drive."

"Okay..." Matthew rose from the couch where he'd been sitting. "I'll go wait, then."

"I'll be out there soon." Gilbert watched Matthew slowly walk out the door and then past the window towards the car.

This time, Gilbert didn't know for certain the answer to Matthew's question.

 _Will I see you again next weekend?_

* * *

Behind The Name - Miss Jackson - Panic! At The Disco

Panic! is one of my favorite bands, and this song fits well with the chapter. It's about a woman who has two lives - one as a faithful partner, the other as a seductress. It fits well for an obvious reason - she, like Matthew, has an alter-ego that she has to keep under wraps. And then, everything falls apart.


	21. Alone

Chapter 21

Alone - Marshmello

 _Great._

Matthew scowled.

 _What was that?!_

"I ruined everything!" He shouted out loud into the empty house. "Now he probably wants to end this all! Dammit, Matthew!"

He felt his face get hot. "You probaby had one chance, and what do you go and do?! You started one lie that turned into this disaster! Damn it, damn it, damn it!" Matthew breathed heavily. He ran up the stairs and into his room. He wriggled underneath his bed to retreive his hidden secret weapon, and hooked it up to his laptop.

Matthew had a weird way of taking out his frustration. He channeled all of his anger through his Midi Fighter, his little launchpad he had used when he was still a beginner. He stored it under his bed mostly because his beginner days were more than a little cringey.

Now, he began to play something fierce. He began with an old Skrillex song he'd heard years ago, and then started deviating from it. Eventually, the sound he created was so far from the original that it had become something of his own.

Matthew knew he was running out of frustration quickly. He crafted an ending to his mix so aggressive he almost blew out his speakers.

When it died down, he noticed his own sobs. His face was hot with tears.

 _What the hell, cut it out!_ He wiped his eyes and scolded himself.

"The hell..." Matthew sniffed.

"I guess I have something for the show." It felt cruel to tell himself that his anger was the key to his productivity, but maybe that was just the case. _Gil would've told me to cheer up. 'There's no reason to be miserable. Music is a gateway to something greater.' Hah, that's exactly what he would've told me._

Matthew shook his head. He flopped onto his side, not even bothering to turn off his electronics as he fell into a dark, sad, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Are you teling me," Gilbert muttered, "That you knew this all along?"

"Well, I didn't! It was Francis!" Antonio immediately pointed to the Frenchman. "You know that I couldn't deduce that myself!"

"Francis?"

"Well-"

"What do you have to say?"

"I-"

"I could've avoided that entire situation if you would've just told me!" Gilbert yelled. "Now he thinks I want to break up with him!"

"So you admit it was a thing?" Antonio interjected.

"This isn't the time, 'Toni!" Gilbert ran his hands through his hair. "Yes, we were a thing! That was obvious! Now, we might not be, because I got into an argument with him and called him a liar! Do you not understand?!" Gilbert puffed.

"...Ouch."

"Right?" Gilbert grumbled. "I messed up... _Gott..._ "

"You've had some bad experiences in the past. Let's not forget that stuck-up Roderich from Austria." Francis stuck out his tongue. "He was so rude!"

"Right, right..." Gilbert nodded. "Yeah. Sure." He put up a front of I'm-not-frustrated-anymore and stopped pacing around the kitchen. "I'm fine. I'll talk to him later."

He didn't deliver on that promise.

* * *

Ms. Celeste greeted Matthew kindly, but he could tell something was off.

She walked as though she was in pain, and Matthew couldn't help but feel bad for her. Knowing her, she probably got herself in too deep with a 'client' of hers.

"How are you doing today, Mister De-la-croix?" Ms. Celeste drew out the syllables of his stage name. She patted his chest. "I'm sure you're doing great."

"Yeah. Just _excellent_." He rolled his eyes.

Ms. Celeste looked like she picked up on how he really felt, but she corrected her expression quickly. "Well, hun, the stage is set. I suggest you go please that crowd of yours."

"Yeah." Matthew was about to go up on stage, but before he did, he turned around. "How much did you say I was getting paid?"

Ms. Celeste blinked, dumbfounded.

"Keep it." She opened her mouth to say something, but Matthew pointed at her. "Shh! You need it."

Then, he entered the set. "Layden Falls, how are you tonight?" He shouted out.

They all screamed back various responses. "Well, great, because I feel like shit too. Hey, maybe we can feel better together?"

The crowd shouted back a unified, "Yes!"

"Awesome." Matthew slowly turned a knob that increased the volume of the music steadily until it became nearly deafening. Then, the party finally began, washing out Matthew's bad mood like the change of tides.

* * *

Well hello!

Thank you guys for the reviews you put out, I appreciate it! It's really motivating!

Also, Happy New Year! Is everyone happy 2016 is finally gone? XD

So here's my status:

Basically, I'm spending, like, the entire weekend with my step-family. I'll be here until Monday, and since I don't have much else to do... I'll be writing the entire weekend! Yay!

Bad part is that I'm on a tablet, so it's a little harder to put out chapters because it's really glitchy. Oh well.

It's been a while since I wrote one of these club scenes! I'm happy to get back to it! Oh my gosh you guys, I felt so so so bas writing Ms. Celeste's part. She's just a poor side character, she deserves happiness! Agh! *sobs*

These chapters felt a little rushed, but I think I can write some better-quality stuff once I eat breakfast.

Anyway, I'll be here checking in all the time, writing like a speed demon, so... see you guys next chapter!

Signing off,

-Red

* * *

Behind The Name - Alone - Marshmello

Because Matthew and Gilbert are alone, of course.


	22. Who R U

Chapter 22

Who R U - Patrick Reza ft. Notelle

Matthew had another set today.

He was already exhausted from the one the night before. Besides that, he'd literally not had proper, 8-hour sleep for 24 hours, and it was getting to him. He kept himself awake, though, despite the fact that he felt dizzy. He opened up his laptop, but instead of doing something productive, he decided to spend a day purging his old files. Matthew was always in need of new space.

Matthew did that for a few minutes, until he came across some familiar ones. The save names were 'whatever' (an image of a cat underneath a pile of papers) and 'lemeow' (another cat, but this time with lasers and pizza, because why not?). He laughed a little at them, and decided to spare them from his rampage of destroying junk files.

After Matthew was done, he set one of his cat memes as his wallpaper. Then he smiled. Old Matthew hadn't been as stressed as Now Matthew. _He enjoyed what he was doing._

Then he looked at the time. What he thought had been a few minutes had actually been at least three hours.

It was time.

Matthew closed his laptop, packed up, got himself prepared, and quietly slipped out into the city.

* * *

"I wanna hear all my fans up front!"

The crowd cheered.

"In the back!"

The cheers grew louder.

The lights had finally died down a little. _Great. They were hurting my eyes._

Matthew sighed. "Guys, I hate to break it to ya - I gotta go. One more song and I'm cut off."

The partygoers booed.

"Enjoy while you can, alright?"

They agreed.

"Alright!"

The music grew louder. Matthew mixed in the last track, and then he got the signal. He wasn't needed past this point; there was another DJ waiting to take over. So, Matthew escaped behind the curtains and into the back room.

* * *

"Delacroix."

Matthew's eyes widened in surprise.

"I would like to talk with you. As a friend."

Matthew turned around. "Uh, Ms. Celeste?"

"Call me Tami. Come with me." She motioned for him to follow her. Ms. Celeste - rather, Tami - led him through a darkened hallway.

What happened next was unforgettable.

* * *

Gilbert was drunk.

Well, he wasn't pissing-himself drunk, but he had a serious buzz.

He'd gone drinking with his brother Ludwig. They were both German, they both liked drinking. What more would you expect?

They were walking down the street, since it was _apparently_ illegal to drink and drive.

 _Pfft, America._ Gilbert rolled his eyes and cackled more.

He heard some squeals and saw flashes.

"Is it true that DJ sensation Delacroix is dating the lead singer of rising star band The Bad Friends?"

"Oh my gosh I love it!"

"Delacroix is gay?"

"Hm?" Gilbert squinted. "I wonder..."

"They're talking about you, you idiot!" Ludwig pounded his back.

"Jesus Christ, Luddykinz."

"Don't call me that."

* * *

"I understand."

Matthew sat dumbfounded. The room that Tami led him to smelled a lot like weed and didn't seem sanitary, but Matthew ignored it.

"I understand what you're going through." She clarified. "Bad breakup?"

"Well, I mean..." Matthew tilted his head in thought. "I mean, I think he wants to break up, but I don't know, I'm not sure-"

"Ah, so that rumor is true! I see." Tami smiled and tapped her foot to the music permeating the walls. "I was wondering."

"Ugh." Matthew groaned. "I'm trying to have _less_ people know about it, not more." He shook his head. "Anyway. I noticed-"

"Yeah." Tami leaned on the wall at the other side of the room. "We all have secrets, Delacroix. What I want you to understand is - well, maybe you don't have to hide forever. Matthew." She added.

"W-wait, how-" Matthew exhaled through clenched teeth. "Whatever."

Tami smiled. "Don't forget to pick up tonight's pay, kiddo." She reminded him as he exited the room.

* * *

Matthew was drowning in a sea of people.

"Is it true that Delacroix is dating the lead singer of rising star band The Bad Friends?"

"Oh my gosh I love it!"

"Delacroix is gay?"

Matthew hadn't even said anything. He'd just exited the club, and suddenly he was bombarded.

He stood on the tips of his toes to see above their heads. He was already pretty tall, but so were all of these rabid beasts. He turned to run somewhere else and get them off his trail, and crossed the street quickly.

Matthew escaped around a corner, and suddenly bumped right into someone.

"Hey, watch your ste-"

"Matthew! I see you're out late." Gilbert turned around and raised his brows.

"Gilbert, that isn't Matthew." Gilbert's blonde companion hissed.

 _What?_

 _So that's Ludwig, I bet... he doesn't know. Good._

"I don't know what you're talking about. Who the hell is Matthew?" Matthew retorted. He turned around and started walking off. "Watch your step, alright?" He growled.

"Wh-what..."

"Gilbert, let's _go_."

Matthew clenched his teeth and ignored the urge to turn back towards them, instead running clear across the way to the next block without even waiting for the signal.

* * *

Heyyyy :D

So I think I'll get one or two more chapters out later so I'll give you my status later, okay? Stay tuned for more, review, and don't forget to follow to get notifications when I update!

Sigining off,

-Red

* * *

Behind The Name: Who R U - Patrick Reza ft. Notelle

Matthew is finding that he has sort of separated his life in two, and most people don't understand that although he tries to be two people, he is, in reality, a single person. People don't know that person, so, "Who are you?"

Matthew himself may not understand who he is, and that could be why he separated his lives in the first place.


	23. My Fault

Chapter 23

My Fault - Imagine Dragons

Gilbert paused.

Antonio ripped into his solo, hitting each note of the piece perfectly. The room felt warm, with the sunset gleaming through the window. The ground was frosted, but the sun still made everything glow in shades of gold. It only helped Gilbert's mind wander.

 _Matthew..._

 _I wonder how he's feeling right now._

"Gilbert!"

"Oh, what?" Gilbert stopped drifting.

Francis rolled his eyes and huffed. "That was your cue."

"Oh. Right." Gilbert sighed. "Listen, guys-"

"We _know_." Francis shook his head and looked Gilbert in the eyes. He grabbed his shoulders. "Gilbert."

"Didn't you talk to him?"

Gilbert shook his head.

"Ugh!" Francis shook him. "You're such an idiot!" He hissed. "Why haven't you told him anything yet?! It's been two weeks! Two _weeks!_ What do you not understand?!"

"Francis-"

"Shush! Gilbert-"

"Francis, I haven't thought it through yet. I can't at the moment, okay?" Gilbert pushed Francis's hands from his shoulders. "I'm gonna go. You guys can practice if you want. I'm going out for a break."

Gilbert turned and walked across the room, then stomped up the steps in silence.

* * *

He'd been walking for at least a half hour.

The sunset had faded away, and the sky had since turned dark. Few stars faintly glowed far, far away. Gilbert walked down a path that wound through the park and beside the river.

He stopped, taking a moment to look around more.

To his left was the riverbank. To the right, there was a thick line of trees. He went left.

Sitting down on a large, dry rock, Gilbert let out a big breath, and a thin cloud escaped from his mouth. He crossed his egs and stared into the water.

The river still hadn't frozen. It was still tonight, so he scould see his reflection clearly in the water. He scowled at it, then threw a rock into the river.

 _Ugh._

He looked back down. The water was rippling now, so his reflection was distorting, making his features look eerily demonic.

 _When did I become like this?_

Gilbert huffed. He looked out across the river, and saw two other people walking along the trail on the other side.

 _I can't remember._

 _Maybe... maybe I was just always like this._

 _I should stop being so self-centered. Stop blaming other people for my problems._

" _Gott_ , why am I still out here? I'm freezing my ass off!" He hissed, cursing himself for being so dumb.

Gilbert rose.

He took one last look at his reflection in the water. The water wasn't rippling, but he still seemed different somehow.

 _Hm._

Then, he hauled himself back to the practice session.

* * *

Gilbert scrolled through his and Matthew's texts that night.

 _From: Mattie_

 _Hello? It's Matt. You know, the 'Coffee Shop Kid'._

Gilbert smiled.

 _The humble beginnings._

His smile twisted into a frown.

He began to type something.

 _To: Mattie_

 _I'm sorry I yelled at you so much the other night..._

He sent it, shut off his phone, and hoped for a reply.

* * *

Matthew had arrived home. It was six in the morning. It was still pitch-black outside. Matthew was grateful for winter. It was always easier to get to sleep in the early morning during winter.

He'd had another Saturday set. Tami had given him a knowing look and nod when he'd showed up tonight. Matthew returned the look. He assumed they were friends now. That was quite new. He'd had friends before, but they were never relatable. Now, though, he had someone to talk to, and that was a blessing.

Matthew set his things down lightly against the wall. Not caring to change, he set down on his bed.

His phone was shoved under his pillow. Hesitatingly, he grabbed it.

Matthew turned on the power. A notificaton banner decorated the screen.

 _Text from Gilbert:_

 _I'm sorry I yelled at you so much the other night..._

 _Sent 11:34_

Matthew frowned and sighed. He turned off the phone, shoved it back under his pillow, and went to take out his contacts.

After that struggle, Matthew came back.

He reached under the pillow and unlocked his phone. He stared at Gilbert's message for a few moments.

 _I want to give him a chance..._

 _But maybe I should wait._

 _I'm not ready... I don't want to cause another disaster again. Not yet._

 _I will improve. Then, I will be ready._

Matthew, regretfully, set his phone down again, and settled in to try and get some decent sleep.

* * *

Behind The Name: My Fault - Imagine Dragons

Both of these two are blaming themseves for what happened, thus neither wants to talk for fear that the other will still be angry.


	24. Alone (MRVLZ) & Who We Are

Chapter 24

Alone - Marshmello (MRVLZ Remix)

Matthew had just woken.

It was around twelve in the afternoon. It was cloudy outside, and there was a light snowfall coming down. Matthew wanted to ignore the time and go back to sleep, but... he just couldn't.

So he stared at the ceiling. He was unwilling to leave the warmth of his blankets, so he just rolled onto his back and thought.

Somehow, he rembered his resolution to himself to improve. Normally, he couldn't remember ideas he'd had in the night, but this one stuck.

He wanted to improve, he did... but there was no way to do that _safely_...

Unless he wanted to compromise his indentity and alert his father to his separate life outside of school.

Matthew didn't want to think about what might happen if _that_ happened...

In a moment of sudden bravado, he found himself wanting to tell his secret. He just wanted to be done with carrying this burden! He wanted to be himself, but not be himself _divided_. He was both Delacroix and Matthew, and he had to learn to accept all sides of himself, the good and bad. And he wanted his father to be proud of _his_ music. And _him._

Matthew decided. He would go through with this.

He was going to get rid of his secrets.

And then, he and Gilbert could be happy again.

He smiled, almost deviously. Then, he walked down the stairs, ignoring the pit he felt in his gut.

"Hey, Dad? I, uh, wanna talk to you about something..."

* * *

Who We Are - Imagine Dragons (Part One)

His father was silent.

Only now, while Matthew was in the hands of fate, did he really take notice of him. His hair was long, longer than Matthew's. He had to tie it up every morning. It was a few shades darker, a bit more like Alfred's. He and Matthew also wore the same kind of glases. It felt a bit like seeing an older version of himself.

"I-Is there something wrong?!" Matthew panicked. He fidegted around on the couch. "I-uh-"

"So... I have no problem with your sneaking out, or your liking guys... but you're going to tell me that you got banned from Wal-Mart doing dumb things and you _didn't invite me_?" His dad frowned.

"Oh my God, _Dad._ " Matthew shook his head. Then he hugged him. "Thanks... thank you so so so much."

His dad laughed. "So I'm assuming your mystery man is that Gilbert kid?"

" _Dad_!"

"Don't act like I can't see what's going on! I'm on Twitter, I know what's happenin'."

Matthew leapt out of the hug and retreated as fast as he could to the kitchen. "I'm making tea." He announced loudly from the other side of the house. He had really just run off because he was blushing in embarrasment, but he was still going to make that tea. Even if it was really just for show.

 _One down,_ he thought excitedly.

* * *

Matthew sipped his tea and wondered what he would do next.

He and his father were sitting on the couch yet again, but his father was reading. He was smiling.

 _Thank God he didn't get upset._ Matthew thought. _But how will my audience react?_

He remembered something that had happened a day or two ago. It was fuzzy, but he still had a vague recalling...

 _"Delacroix is gay?"_

 _"Is it true that-"_

 _Stop._

 _Stop thinking about it._

 _You'll work yourself up over it._

Matthew calmed himself. _I'll be fine._

He smiled to himself.

 _It'll be worth it when I talk to him again._

"Matthew?"

He looked up. His father had an eyebrow raised. "Don't go crazy on me, kiddo."

"I'm not, I'm fine!" Matthew stood. "I might go out today and walk around. Go to the cafe, y'know. I need something to do."

"Mm." His father nodded. "Just don't get yourself in trouble."

 _Pfft._

* * *

Matthew walking into the cafe. A little bell rang, and he almost jumped in surprise.

This cafe was new to him. The whole atmosphere seemed friendly and warm, and light filtered in through the windows. People chatted quietly at the tables, and some sat and worked on things on laptops. The smell of fresh coffee wafted through the air, and Matthew realized just how much he wanted coffee now.

He placed his order. The cashier gave him a friendly smile as she told him that his order would be out in just a moment.

Matthew walked to find a seat and sat down with a sigh of content. He drummed his fingers on the table as he stared out the cafe window, watching people stroll by. His mind began to wander...

* * *

Gilbert was walking down the sidewalk. He was fuming again, but he was trying to cool his temper Key word: trying. It wasn't working very well.

It wasn't for the same reason as a few nights ago, though.

It was his father.

Gilbert's family over in Germany usually had a nice Christmas get-together. All of Gilbert's little nieces and nephews and younger cousins would obsessively tell Ludwig and him what they received on the holiday and the family would have a generally good time.

Gilbert decided he would finally try to get back in touch with his family - instead, his father told him that he would "harm the children" with his "disgusting ideals".

Gilbert was more than a little angry at his father.

He'd thought maybe he wouldn't resent the man as much now after a few years. _Of course, life throws me a curveball. Again._

Gilbert growled at himself for even trying to talk to his father. He knew about what happened in Austria. He had sat stonily through Gilbert's confession. Obviously-

 _Gilbert!_

 _Come on!_

He sighed and stopped in his tracks. He looked down at his feet, and then towards the road.

Gilbert turned and leaned his back against a coffee shop wall.

* * *

Matthew tilted his head.

"You... you know me?" Matthew pointed to himself.

"Of course he does, honey." The long-haired brunette with a flower in her hair shook her head. "You're basically famous here."

"Yes, you're quite popular." A man sitting next to her said. He gave off a pretentious vibe that Matthew didn't really like, but he sat and listened to him.

The man pushed his half-moon glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. "I also hear that you are involved with the lead singer of The Bad Friends." The man's lower lip twitched when he said the band's name.

"Wh... what? You mean-" Matthew was interrupted by the girl with a flower in her hair.

"Sh, he doesn't like to hear his name." She silenced him.

"Well, yeah, I guess - how do you even know who I am?!" Matthew questioned. "I'm just a normal-"

The man rolled his eyes. "Oh come _on_ \- do you honestly think I'm going to believe that?"

"You and Delacroix look the exact same." The girl supplied.

"Exactly." The man reaffirmed. "I used to know... him... as well."

Matthew was confused, but he kept his attention on the man.

"I will just say - from what I know - he isn't one to lie, no matter how much I'd like to say otherwise." The man knitted his brows. "He's... he's particular. And surprisingly fragile." The man stood, and the woman followed suit.

"What... what's any of this supposed to mean?" Matthew asked, as they began walking off. "Hey! You didn't even tell me your-" The cafe door opened and shut with a swoosh.

"Names..." Matthew huffed.

 _Well, that was odd._

He looked back to his coffee. He touched it. It was getting colder by the moment.

 _And now my coffee is ruined._

* * *

Gilbert wasn't thinking of running into open traffic. He wasn't _suicidal_ , just... sad? Angry? Lonely?

He almost missed two all-too familiar faces walk right past him indifferently.

"Wh - Roderich?" He breathed.

The brown haired man stopped and turned his head to look at him.

 _Oh... my god..._

Memories of the Austrian show welled up. Nights spent laughing and running through the streets, and some spent together wrapped in sheets...

" _Servus_. You've been doing well for yourself in this city."

Gilbert was sure that all the blood had drained from his body.

"Eliza... uh... I guess so?"

Roderich rolled his eyes. "Your _boyfriend_ is in there if you want to see him."

Gilbert just stood still in shock as Roderich huffed, turned back around, and began to walk towards the corner.

A faint feeling of jealousy seeped into his veins. Just looking at Elizabeta made his blood boil. Although this time, it was more like a ghost. An apparition in his heart. He snapped back into reality when he started to lose his balance. He came back to his senses and shook his head.

 _To go in... to not go in?_

Gilbert bit his lip.

 _I can't be trusted to make this decision..._

* * *

I think this chapter was my least favorite to write XD

Except for the Elizabeta/Roderich scenes. I think those were decent.

Hi. It's been a bit. I'm alive. Doing well.

I started like, two other stories. I don't think that was a good idea on my part, but I did it. Oops.

I was tripped twice today, and now I'm bruised on my elbows _and_ knees. Not cool. It's not a big deal, but _dammit everybody laughed and I was in front of people and I REALLY DON'T LIKE PEOPLE._

Anyway XD

I feel like this chapter was cheeeeesy. Like cheeesier than that weird cheese in a can. So CHEEEEESY

Okay. I've gotta go, because I have _so much homework to do_.

I really shouldn't be saying that. The school guidance counselor knows that this fic exists... she reads it... hey if you're there, hi! I'm totally not not finished with my homework! *insert tragically horrible poker face here*

Goodnight everybody! (Or day or morning or evening, because I can't cover all hundred and eighteen ( _side note: holy crap_ ) of your timezones sorry D: )

Signing off,

Red


	25. Chase You Down

Quick Author's Note:

Oh, gosh, guys! I didn't expect you to be so worried T-T I apologize! I'm sure they tripped me on accident. Really, I just got too close to the lockers and they were putting their books away... also everybody _but_ me has long legs and basically that's a recipe for tripping disaster. Honestly, it happens to everyone at some point at my school. XD

Anyway, here's the next chapter! Uuuuugh I've wanted to have this happen for _forever_

* * *

Chapter 25

Chase You Down - RUNAGROUND

Gilbert swung the cafe door open. He entered with a purpose in his stride, and he quickly recognized a mop of honey-blonde waves sitting at a table right beside the window. He breathed heavily and ruffled his hair a bit, a nervous tic that he couldn't remember picking up, and he sat down directly across from Matthew. "Um... hi." Gilbert looked away shyly. He didn't remember a moment he felt so on edge, so... skittish.

Gilbert looked down at his hands on the table. He noticed Matthew give him a glance.

"I'm sorry!" Gilbert blurted. He looked up at Matthew's face for a moment, but then threw his gaze back down. "I... that was just..."

"Over-the-top?" Matthew suggested off-handedly.

"Yes! Exactly!" Gilbert lifted his head and balled his fists. "I overreacted! What I did was kind of ridiculous!"

"You don't say?" Matthew raised a brow.

"Come on, Mattie..." Gilbert let out a loud breath. "It's just... I guess it's a reflex? I don't know what it is!" Gilbert gesticulated wildly and then settled his head in his hands. "Something similar just happened a long time ago... It just reminded me of something that someone else did to me a few years back, and I... it set me off, Mattie. I'm sorry." With that, Gilbert heaved a huge breath and leaned back in the booth.

Matthew blinked a few times, momentarily contemplating how to respond. "I mean, Gilbert. You can't honestly blame yourself for _all_ of that."

"I-"

"No, you can't." Matthew shook his head. "Seriously. If you were in my shoes, would you have kept that secret?"

"Mattie, it really depends-"

"Gilbert. I told my father. He literally already knew."

"Oh."

"And so did basically the rest of the city."

Gilbert was silent.

"Gil, I was really just being an idiot, trying to keep my two lives separate." Matthew laughed quietly. "It's actually kind of funny, looking back on it. Heh... I remember a quote from a music video that I've always loved."

Gilbert leaned forward and nodded.

Matthew smiled. "It was... 'They say searching for love is like searching for yourself.'" Matthew grinned widely. "'When you find yourself, you find love, because they're the same...'" Then he reached over the table to grasp Gilbert's hand.

Gilbert grinned hugely.

Then he tilted his head.

"Did they actually, like, know?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Yes, don't you know what the word _know_ means?"

Gilbert chuckled.

Matthew's hand slid to Gilbert's wrist. His eyes took on a look of determination. "Gil."

"Hm?"

Matthew stood and leaned over the table. He put his empty hand on Gilbert's shoulder and kissed him deeply. In public. Did Gilbert care at this point? Hell no. Did other people? Well, no, not really. Which was surprising.

Except for one small gasp and someone obviously taking a picture to tweet, no one cared to look.

Matthew drew away and grinned. "Come on!" He yanked Gilbert's arm in his direction.

"Wai - ah!" Gilbert stumbled through the cafe door and out into the sunlight.

* * *

Gilbert struggled to keep up as Matthew ran down the sidewalk.

"Mattie!"

"Jst follow me!" He made a sharp turn around the block.

"Oh, come on... I can't run forever..." Gilbert huffed in complaint.

"Quit muttering!" Matthew appeared at the end of the block, annoyed. Gilbert reached him and Matthew grabbed his wrist. Then he started walking with long strides, taking Gilbert along with him.

"Wha-!" He made a surprised noise - he wouldn't admit that he _whimpered_ \- as he was suddenly yanked around the corner. He stumbled after Matthew, who seemed pretty determined to get somewhere. _Where?_

 _Ah, maybe the practice place..._

Gilbert thought it out for a moment and almost tripped on the curb.

"Gil! Pay attention, we're crossing!" Matthew looked back at him scoldingly, like a mother.

They crossed frantically as someone - probably - flipped them off. Road rage.

"Mattie! Where are we going?!" Gilbert protested, panting.

"You'll see!"

* * *

"Oh."

They stood in front of a familiar white house.

"Oh..." Gilbert's pulse went up. "Okay. Okay. This is fine. This is fine..."

"Pfft." Matthew let go of Gilbert's hand and walked right up to the door. He twisted the doorknob and pushed the entrance open.

"Uh..." Gilbert scratched the back of his neck.

"Back so soon?" A voice said from inside.

 _Shiiiit._

Gilbert began to panic more than he already had been.

Gilbert knew exactly what Matthew was doing. He had done the same. Exact. Thing. And... it hadn't ended well. It sucked. He was kicked out. Obviously, this couldn't be a good idea!

"I have someone with me I'd like you to meet."

"Uh, Mattie..." Gilbert looked away, partially happy but mostly just overwhelmingly terrified. He felt like he had a fever of sorts. His stomach was queasy and his face was burning up.

Matthew looked him in the eye and waved him over, grinning ridiculously.

Gilbert fought his urge to throw up in the lawn and nervously made his way up to the doorstep.

* * *

blushy Gilbert is my aesthetic not gonna lie

I'd like to make an announcement:

WE'RE GOING ON TOUR!

w00t w00t

More specifically, the Black Eagle is going on tour! That's right, folks! Alter-Ego will be getting a prequel (finally) and it will be about all of our beloved Euro nations that we've missed. Well, a lot of them, anyway. You probably can't fit the entirety of Europe in a one-month timespan, unless you're insane.

Here, have a teensy, tiny excerpt:

I'm the guitarist for a band called The Black Eagle. We suck. Badly.

Even my little bro agrees. _Well, I mean, he normally agrees with anything that has to do with me being miserable. Damn._

Anyway. Back to my point... we're going on tour. Which, honestly, is more like, "Hey, do you wanna go drive around Europe for like a month and bribe barkeeps to let us play bad metal in front of some twenty-odd people?" I really should have pitched it like that. I could've gotten kicked out for sure.

See, here's the thing: I hate my band.

They're the kind of people who _suck ass at playing_ , and think it sounds awesome. They are the _only_ reason that I hate music. And - even worse - the lead singer? He's a complete douchebag. Wanna try to guess his name?

Anton. Ugh, fucking _Anton_.

Look at it. _Look at how far I have come aaaaa_

Soooooooo that's what's happening!

Also what's happening... if you haven't noticed already, Alter-Ego is sort of on it's falling action, if you get my drift? Like, I've still got at least 10k-20k words left, but it's getting horribly, _horribly_ closer to it's end. Jeez, it makes me almost shed a tear. :(

But... I can tell you that we will really be ending on a _high note_ ;)

puns lol

So if you need something more of this to read after it ends? Well, it's technically not ending, in a sense. So, go check it out. It's posted now!

I'll be getting back to working on it. :D

(EDIT: If I wasn't busy being addicted to Killing Stalking)

(I need to stahhhhp reading it)

(Sangwoo can you kill me now)

(also don't hurt me because I already know that _everyone_ gets shade for liking KS)

Signing off,

-Red (XOXO - thank you guys!)


	26. Alter Ego

**_Chapter 26_**

 ** _Alter Ego._**

"Mattie."

Matthew turned.

"I... I seriously just..." Gilbert motioned aimlessly with his hands and whimpered. "I seriously cannot do _that_."

Matthew tilted his head.

"You know... what you intend to do." Gilbert rolled his eyes when Matthew still didn't understand. "You intend to have me meet your father and blah, blah, happiness and rainbows." He grumbled. "I just... I can't do that!"

Gilbert was so insecure in this one moment, more insecure in himself then he'd ever been. This wasn't something he could just stumble into.

Matthew seemed to read him for that second, and after an oddly long, awkward pause, he made down the street.

"Matt! Wait! Did I-"

"Just follow along!"

Gilbert heaved a breath and jumped into a fast stride.

The whole time Matthew ran, Gilbert ran along behind. How odd, the role-reversal between them now. Instead of Gilbert leading all the time, Matthew had taken a true initiative.

And the whole time, he decided to not complain that his side ached horribly, or the fact that his _hair was so irritatingly waving in that specific spot on his face._ He just followed, because, if he was honest with himself, there wasn't much more to do.

Matthew made a sharp left into an alleyway of red brick and rough gray concrete. A stray McDonald's bag sat on the ground as a sliver of the waning light lay upon it. There was a familiar rusted ladder attached to one of the buildings' walls. When Gilbert looked up, he saw the darkening sky between two tall walls.

Matthew was already halfway up the ladder. "What're you waiting for?" He raised a blonde brow.

Gilbert shook his head and blinked a few times, then climbed up the ladder as fast as he could while still not doing something ridiculously stupid. When he reached the roof, Matthew was yet again one step ahead. He was perched on the edge of the building, looking back at Gilbert as his hair curled around his face. He motioned for Gilbert to sit beside him.

Gilbert padded over and, with an 'oof', sat at the edge of the rooftop.

Matthew gave him a small glance.

"Are either of us even ready for... _any_ of this?" Matthew inquired, looking away to the skyline.

Gilbert sighed reluctantly and shrugged. "I have no clue."

"Pfft." Matthew smiled ( _quite cutely_ , Gilbert noted) and shook his head.

"Eh. Who cares anymore?" Gilbert laughed genuinely.

Matthew rolled his lavender eyes. He reached out for Gilbert's hand and grasped it. "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah." Gilbert nodded, hanging his legs over the edge. Luckily they weren't on the street-facing side of the old, rickety building. "Everything'll be fine."

Matthew dipped his head in agreement. He then leaned over, took Gilbert's cheek in his empty hand, and kissed him lightly.

When Gilbert pulled away after a moment, Matthew lay his head on Gil's shoulder.

"I finally think I pieced together some of those lyrics." Gilbert finally said, after two minutes or so of silent harmony.

"Oh?" Matthew lifted his head and looked him in the eye.

"Well, yeah." Gilbert beamed proudly. "And I think I know what the name has to be."

Matthew cocked his head with a curious growing grin.

"Alter-Ego. Yeah?"

Matthew squeezed his hand and looked out over the city again, taking a sweeping panoramic view of the place they'd adventured and scoured.

"Yeah."

* * *

 _A year later_

 _An undisclosed bar basement in_ _Columbus_

A powerful electric guitar riff blasted through his ears.

There was quite a commotion, with a small cheer cascading into a chorus of screams.

"Well, I guess everyone knows what we're playing next." Gilbert joked.

He could barely hear anything else under another huge wave of jarring, beautiful sound. "Who even knows how we wrote this song? Seriously, any of ya?"

There were at least fifty people who very willingly offered to tell the entire story in high detail, but Gilbert went ahead anyway. "Well, you see," He began, "I met this clumsy kid a while back in a coffee shop."

"Oh, come on, they know my name."

There was another huge scream when the crowd recognized the voice. If it would have come as a surprise to anyone, the internet took to the pair almost immediately after they actually got on the 'social radar'.

Matthew came out from the backstage area and leapt up onto the main stage. He wasn't even in his disguise, something he'd come to terms with the past year. "Hey, look, I didn't trip over myself trying to get up here." He joked sarcastically.

Gilbert clapped. "Good job Matthew for not breaking your nose!"

Matthew grinned and punched him in the arm lightly.

"Hey, you two." Francis called, "We've got a time limit, and it happens to not include your lovey-dovey behavior. Not that we don't want to see it, because it's adorable."

"So he met me in a coffee shop." Matthew pushed along insistently. "And things happened."

"Well, telling the condensed version is no fun." Gilbert teased.

Matthew rolled his eyes as another loud guitar riff ripped through the air.

"So I guess that's just what this song is."

"A story." Matthew completed, as the drum solo began and the music flowed from their fingertips.

And a new story opened up, unfolding its chapters before them.

* * *

*gasp*

I'm kinda sad! Like really! That was so fun...

I wish the fun could've lasted longer, friends, but it's time to part. *tears*

I hope this ending satisfied you, even if it may have not been something wickedly long or the like. But I've been wanting this for so, so long, and it makes me kinda proud.

I apologize for the wait. I couldn't write _just the right scene_ for like, a month. Or longer. I appear to not have counted, lol.

Anyway, I would like to thank the people who've been reviewing for an eternity, even if it was just a short chapter or even just an update stating how I was doing. I love you, seriously. And everyone who followed, and favorited, and just... everyone. I love you _all_.

I hope you all stay tuned in to my account, just in case I might write something awesome like this again one day.

And before I sign off for the very last time, if any of you just wanna check in on me or just screw around (and see what I get up to while procrastinating), I'm Redlington over on Tumblr.

So, ah, I guess it's time.

Signing off,

-Redlington (loves you)


	27. REWRITES COMING SOON

Nearly a year later.

16K views, more support than I ever expected for my skill.

I return.

I would like to thank you all, yet again, and I come with a bold and daring announcement:

1\. Alter-Ego is a few chapters away from being completed on Wattpad, and it will be complete on Archive shortly after.

2\. The Electro-verse's prequel will be re-booted, with a newfound motivation.

and our biggest announcement:

3\. Alter/Ego is getting a massive rewrite.

This encompasses plot holes, grammatical errors, and the rushed ending. Please do re-read a few chapters and tell me what I should especially look for.

I wanted to make this announcement on the original so all of my original followers will hopefully receive this notification ^^'

I wanted to come back to this story because... well, these are my roots. I love this story, it's like, practically my little word-child, and I feel it deserves more attention. I feel like I did wrong with that ending and now, with a much larger selection of music to choose for chapters and inspiration, I think I can really do some justice for these two star-crossed lovers.

Stay tuned.

-Red (jasp :3)

1/19/18

COMING SOON


	28. RELEASED!

Rewrites! Part! One! Is! Up!

So what'll it be from here on out?

This fic will stay here to live out its days. The new Alter/Ego will replace its former spot, but it won't be deleted or forgotten! Alter/Ego (First edition!) will stay up on my account.

Also - updates on rewrites will occur every week on Friday. It might be a lil late, y'all know me, but it'll get done a lot faster than last time, now that I have a very basic outline.

Yes, _basic._ This story will not end the same way it did here.

Check it out. It'll be worth it, really.

For the last time, ever, on this fic,

Signing off,

-Jasper (I love you!)


End file.
